Fools Of The Old Republic
by Pat McCloud
Summary: What happens when four star wars fans get sucked into the game they're playing? Gets more serious later on, though still silly. Rated for awful language. R
1. Chapter 1 Peragus 2

Foolsof the Old Republic II

_What happens when four Star Wars fans get sucked into the game they're playing?_

"Come on you son of a bitch! Get him! Hey Atton, do something useful and MOVE!"

"Beth, they can't hear you," Justin said.

"Dammit!" Beth threw down the controller. "I would have won, but no. Atton and Disciple decided _this _was the time to sit back and chill out."

"And what, you think you could have better?" Brennen said.

"I bet I could have." Beth looked at the others, her brother Justin, and their two friends Brennen and Johnny. "Come on, think about it. You don't think that in such a position, we couldn't have kicked complete and total ass?"

"Ya. Actually I do." Johnny leaned back. "In fact, I wish we _were _the exiles in this game."

**"Be careful what you wish for."**

"What the hell was that?" Suddenly Beth, Justin, Brennen, and Johnny felt themselves getting pulled by some strong force. Right towards the TV.

"What the hell's happening!" Justin yelled. The four of them tried to hold onto the couch, but to no avail. They flew towards the TV. Beth braced herself, expecting to crash into it. However she felt nothing. For a moment everything was dark. Then suddenly they reappeared in another room and slammed into the ground.

"Holy Hell," Johnny said quietly.

The four of them pushed themselves up. Beth glanced at the tanks that surrounded them. There were five, four of which had someone in it. The last one was empty. Weird. She'd never seen these types of things before...Well, except for one place...

"Is it just me, or does this place looked oddly familiar?" Justin asked.

"You know what it looks like?" Beth started, but was interrupted by Brennen.

"No, why would I know that?"

"If you'd shut up for a second and let me finish, I'd tell you what it looks like!" she snapped. "It looks alot like that first scene in Knights of the Old Republic II."

For a moment they were silent, thinking this through. Then Johnny said, "You know, she's right, it really does."

"Wait wait wait, did you just say she was right?" Justin said. "Beth's never right."

"Oh fuck you!" Beth shot back.

"But Johnny's right," Justin continued. "It does look like Star Wars."

"Screw you, I said that."

"If that's true, then we must be on Peragus 2."

Suddenly, a strange voice ran through their minds. _Awaken._

They looked at each other. Then it said again _Awaken._

"Uh, we are awake," Brennen said.

They listened for the voice again, but there was nothing.

"Huh." They looked at Johnny. "Well, this proves it doesn't it? That must be Kreia, the old Jedi who turns out to be a Sith."

"Wrong," Beth said. "She was always a Sith. She just _pretends _to be a Jedi."

"That's basically what I said Beth, you just rephrased it."

"You rephrased it!"

"Oh Jesus, you two shut it!" Justin yelled. The two of them slumped and bowed their heads.

"Sorry."

"Ya, our bad."

Justin shook his head. "Come on, let's get out of here." He turned to the exit. "Do the doors open automatically in Star Wars, or am I thinking of Star Trek?"

"Test it out," Beth suggested.

"Ok." He turned, picked her up, and pitched her at the door.

"Shit!" She covered her face, but luckily for her, the door opened automatically, and she flew straight through, and slammed into the wall on the side.

"Ow..."

The other three were laughing so hard they could barely breathe.

"I'd hit you but I think my ribs are broken."

Justin stepped forward, trying to control himself but failing miserably. "Sorry."

"You are not."

"Good point." He broke out in laughter again as Beth picked herself up slowly.

"Did you break any ribs?" Brennen asked.

"Sorry to disappoint you, but no. I am, however, in a great deal of pain. It's only that that's stopping me from ripping your lungs out of your ass." That shut Brennen up immediately.

"So where do we go from here again?" Johnny asked.

"The morgue. There we'll find a seemingly dead Kreia. Let us go!" They started walking down the hall. The morgue wasn't far from the medbay, which was a bit of an insult, like putting a graveyard right next a hospital. The door opened automatically here too, which was lucky because Beth was used a test once more. There was no wall right outside the door here however, so she merely skidded along the floor. She leaped up and walked over to the seemingly dead old woman.

"Ok Kreia, gigs up. We know you're alive, wake up!" Nothing. Beth grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her. "Wake up!'

"Beth..."

"WAKE UP!" She started slapping her face.

"BETH!"

"What?"

"That's not Kreia. This one is."

"Oh." Feeling stupid, Beth dropped the body and turned to see Kreia already getting up. The old woman eyed them.

"And who are you four?"

"Brezu Cheli, at your service!" Brennen said immediately.

"Uh, Jaise Lynion," Justin said, grinning.

"I am Jonny Lorenti!" Johnny announced.

They turned to Beth. She looked from one to another.

"Uh...I'm Beth." Clearing her throat, she straightened herself up, trying to look more important. "Master Beth."

"Ooh, impressive," Brennen said quietly to himself.

"Bite me _Brezu_."

"It was your voice we heard, right?" Justin asked Kreia, but before she could answer Beth jumped in.

"Well duh. You've played the game as much as we have, you should know."

"Beth, quiet!" Johnny said. "You're making us sound like crack addicts!"

"Ya dude," Brennen added. "They don't know it's a game."

Kreia looked at the three of them warily. They grinned at her sheepishly, then turned away. Kreia shook her head, and turned back to Justin.

"Yes, it was my voice you heard. Your mind must be a willing one. Or have you been trained for such things?"

Justin opened his mouth to answer, but this time Brennen jumped in. "Trained? Whoa, are you telling me we're Jedi? Sweet!"

Johnny snorted. "Oh come on guys." He stretched out his hand. "You telling me lightning's about to-"

Lightning flew from his fingertips. Beth jumped to the side to avoid being fried. "Watch it asshole!"

"Sorry," Johnny said, staring at his hand.

"Sweet!" Brennen said excitedly. "Let me try that!" He threw his hand out.

Beth went flying back into the wall. Brennen laughed. "Oh my God, that was so cool! Can I try that again?"

Beth stood up slowly. "I'd rather you didn't-" She slammed back into the wall. Brennen laughed again. Feeling dazed, she wasn't so quick to stand this time.

Justin shook his head, then stretched out his hand, using Force Heal. He wasn't sure how he knew how to use it, but decided not to ask questions. Beth, feeling better, got up. If looks could kill, Brennen would've died nine times at the look Beth gave him. Luckily, Justin intervened.

"Guys, let's just pretend the last few seconds didn't happen." Turning away from the confrontation between the two, he looked at Kreia, deciding to continue the story.

"We used to be Jedi. We aren't anymore." He glanced back at Brennen and Beth, who were giving each other the look of death. Uneasily, he turned back to Kreia. "Can we get out of here?"

"I cannot go yet. I am too tired."

"Too tired my ass," Beth muttered, never breaking her staring contest with Brennen.

"Well, we'll go find a way off this place. We'll come check on you later. Come on guys." He walked out of the room, Johnny behind him, with Beth and Brennen trying to find a way to walk and keep their eyes locked at the same time.

The four of them stopped at a door. Justin listened. "Hear that?" he whispered.

"Nope," Beth said. "My God you're ugly Brennen."

"Hey, you're no Miss America."

"Ya, cuz I'm Canadian."

"Well, you're no Miss Canada either."

"You two shut up!" Justin snapped, straining to hear the source of the sound he'd heard before.

"Ah, chill out," Johnny said. "It's probably just some of those mining droids that went berserk."

Justin rolled his eyes. "Is that really a "just" scenario? We don't even have any weapons!"

"We have Beth," Johnny pointed out.

"What, you mean we're going to us her as a projectile or something?"

"No, we are not," Beth said, still not looking away.

"We'll just use our Force powers then," Johnny suggested. "And _not_ on each other," he added to Beth and Brennen, who ignored him and continued to glare at each other.

"All righty then," Justin said, then grinned. "I'm gonna do that thing Obi-Wan does with the doors in the second and third movies." He made a sweeping motion with his hand, and the door flew open.

Two mining droids raced at them, firing like a five-year-old with a machine gun. Which means wildly and without accuracy.

"My turn to use the Force!" Beth called. Not breaking her gaze with Brennen, she opened her mouth and let out a loud yell. The droids flew against the wall and smashed. Justin and Johnny looked at her in surprise.

"That was a wicked Force Scream," Justin said.

"Thank you."

Brennen shrugged, keeping eye contact. "Wasn't that great."

"Says you," Beth retorted.

Johnny started rummaging through a footlocker in the corner of the room. "Guys, look what I found!"

"No," Beth and Brennen said.

"There's four swords in here!"

"Well pass one," Beth said, holding out her hand. Johnny shook his head, and threw one to her. It clunked her in head before landing neatly in her hand. She gave no signs that she even felt the sword hit. Johnny handed the rest around, then they continued walking down the hall. Justin seemed overly excited about the sword.

"Look at me, look at me! I am Swordmaster Jaise Lynion, with the power to destroy the Sith!" With that he began swinging it around like he was fighting some sort of enemy, complete with sound effects.

They finally reached the Communication's Blister, with Justin still waving the sword about like an idiot, with Brennen and Beth still refusing to break eye contact, and with Johnny watching them all thinking "How did I get caught up in this?"

Justin managed to put the sword away long enough to look at the computer. He scratched his head, thought for a moment, then turned to ask the others for their opinion on the matter, but paused when he saw Beth and Brennen.

"Uh, how long are you two gonna keep that up?"

"Until time stops," they replied.

He shook his head, then caught Johnny's eye. The two of them nodded. Johnny grabbed Brennen, Justin grabbed Beth, and the two were pulled away from each other.

"Hey!" Beth yelled.

"I could've won!" Brennen said angrily.

"We don't have time for that kind of crap." He turned back to the computer. "Anyone have any idea how this thing works?"

"I don't know," Beth said. "I can barely operate the computer we have at home." Johnny and Brennen muttered their agreements.

Justin stared at the machine, then something clicked. "Wait, don't we have to get that Atton guy first?"

"Oh ya," the others said.

"Well let's go get him!" The four searched the place for the room that held Atton.

"There!" Johnny said, pointing.

"Is there a shield around it?" Beth asked as they approached the room.

"Let's test it!" Justin grabbed Beth once again and threw her at the door.

Beth slammed into it, and strangely enough the shield broke.

"Huh," Justin said.

"Ow."

"You ok?"

"Absolutely not."

"Well, you're not slurring your speech. You must be fine."

The four of them walked into the room and saw a man in his earlythirties standing in a holding cell. He looked over at them.

"And who the Hell are you?"

"Your worst nightmare!" Beth laughed maniacally. Atton looked at her warily.

"Beth, shut up." Brennen smacked the back of her head. She quieted down.

"Um…Ok." They looked at Atton. "Will you guys let me out, or are you so crazy that I'd be better off in here?"

"Oh, we're crazy all right," Beth said.

"Really crazy," Justin added.

"Super ultimo crazy," Brennen put in.

"Ultimo crazy?" Justin and Beth looked at him.

"Ya. ULTIMO crazy."

"We are not," Johnny said to Atton. "Do you know how we get you out?"

"I don't know. I think I'll just stay here." He kept his eyes on Beth, Justin and Brennen, who were all laughing insanely.

"Nonsense," Johnny said. He walked to the side of the cage. "Is this the button?"

"Ya," Atton answered. "Though I would prefer you _didn't _open it."

Johnny pressed the button anyway, and the shield around the cage disappeared. Atton stepped out worriedly, keeping his eyes on the other three, who were now dancing in a circle, chanting some song.

"Guys, will you stop it?" Johnny said, frustrated. "You have any idea how hard it is to convince people we don't belong in an asylum when you're doing a war dance while singing a battle chant?"

"Five bucks on _very_," Beth said. Johnny shook his head. "Does that mean I'm wrong, or that you're tired of me?"

"No and yes," Johnny told her. "Now come on! We gotta get that computer working!" He led the four others out.

When they reached the Blister again, Beth pushed Atton to the computer, saying "Time for you to start pulling your weight around here!"

He shook his head, and started pressing buttons. They waited. Suddenly he swore and slammed his fist into the keyboard.

"Someone locked the whole place down!"

"Shitty," Beth said.

"Can we call anyone on the Comm?" Justin asked.

"Feel free to try," Atton said, stepping away from the computer.

Justin stepped up to the Comm and yelled into it. "Hey! Anyone alive down there?" The others jumped.

Suddenly there was a series of beeps. Everyone looked at the comm. Justin leaned towards it. "Hey, uh, droid. We need a way off this rock. Any ideas?" More beeps. "Uh, sure?" Silence again. Justin flopped down into a chair and brushed his hair back. "Well, get comfortable. This could, and _WILL_, take awhile."

Beth and Brennen both went for the only other chair. Inevitably, a fight broke out between the two. Justin, Johnny and Atton sighed.

"Well at least we've got some entertainment," Johnny said.

_Two hours later…._

"Damn man, what's taking that damn droid so long?" Justin looked at the console. Beth and Brennen had broken the chair during their fight and had decided to merely glare at each other, and that was not nearly as interesting as them fighting. Johnny had fallen asleep long ago, and Atton wasn't much for conversation.

Justin leaned back. "So..." He looked at Atton. "You...fish?"

Atton looked at him wordlessly, then turned away. Justin sighed. Well, he'd tried. Really, he was sick of Atton. Even Beth could be used for conversation, though you could guarantee the conversation would go _nowhere_. Still, it would pass the time.

Suddenly, a door down the hall opened. For a moment, Justin and Atton merely stared at it. Then Justin stood. "Guys, up and at 'em." Johnny woke, rubbing his eyes. Beth and Brennen looked up at him.

"Where are we going?" Beth asked.

"Beth, you've played the game. We're going into the mining tunnels."

Atton jumped. "Wait wait what!" He shook his head. "Look, you may be Jedi, but do you have any idea how dangerous it is down there? You're going to get yourselves killed! Not that I really care of course, but I don't want to have to escape alone."

Brennen stood, stretching. "Oh no worries. Just a few hundred crazy mining droids with God knows what else, such as HK units and Dark Sith Lords and-"

Justin slapped a hand over Brennen's mouth, grinning guiltily at Atton, who was now staring at Brennen incredulously.

"We're going now," Justin said. "NOW!" He snapped at Brennen, who looked at those he was gonna pick up where he'd left off, Justin grabbed him by the ear and led him out. Beth followed, happy that someone was in pain besides her. Johnny shook his head once again, but walked after them.

"Uh oh," Beth said, stepping back from the opening.

"Oh what now?" Johnny said, exasperated.

"I really hate elevators. It creeps me out to think that the only thing keeping you alive is a thin cable, and that put together with my fear of heights makes riding the elevator shitty."

"Get in here!" Justin grabbed her and pulled her in.

_In the mining tunnels..._

"Well this place certainly is boring," Justin said, looking around.

"It's a mining tunnel. How glorious did you expect it to look?" Beth pointed out.

The mining tunnels were merely a series of, of course, tunnels that went in every direction possible it seemed. The four of them spent half an hour fighting down one hallway, which seemed to be loaded with mining droids, just to find a dead end. They then spent the next hour trying to find their way through the place, just to end up once again at the elevator. Tempers ran short, and before too long they broke into a furious battle. The swords, luckily, lay where they had been dropped, so no one sustained serious injury.

After another two hours, they finally came across an HK unit, who walked up to them.

"Statement: It is a pleasure to see you alive Master, after all the-"

"Cut the bullshit," Beth said immediately. "We know you can bypass the voice lock in the computer, so give us the code and no one gets scrapped."

"Confused Resignation: Uh…Very well Master. The code is-" Beth stuck a voice recorder near his face. His voice changed abruptly to a man's voice. "-voice lock 23056." He changed his voice back. "Statement: There. You happy? Now go away!" He wandered away.

"Nicely done Beth," Johnny said.

"I wish I could do that in the game. Now let's go find the door." The four of them start searching.

"There!" Brennen pointed. The others looked.

"Yep. That's it all right." Justin tapped the door with his knuckles. "But it's sealed shut. We need to find the terminal to unlock this bloody thing."

"Oh ya," the others said.

"Is that it?" Johnny asked after a few minutes of searching. Justin walked over.

"Yep. Ok Beth, take that recorder thing you have and put it near this thing."

"I've played the damn game Justin. Or should I say _Jaise_."

"Yes you should."

"Anyway, I've played the game, I know what to do."

"That's a surprise."

She ignored him and put the recorder near the machine. The code bleeped out, and Beth pressed a few buttons. A door opened nearby.

They looked in. It was a small room, with nothing but four spacesuits sitting in the corner.

"This must be the airlock," Brennen said.

"What are the chances that there are four of us and four suits?" Beth asked.

"Um…Really really good?"

"Well I suppose."

"You two shut up," Justin said. "Let's get going. If there's four suits, then we're lucky, and I'm not about to bitch about our luck."

They put the suits on and Beth walked to the terminal next to the door. Well, she tried anyway. She fell over about half way there. Justin shook his head and helped her up. She tried to make it to the terminal again, and succeeded this time. She pressed a few buttons.

"Airlock Sequence Engaged."

"I'm surprised Beth managed that," Johnny said.

"Screw you."

"Maybe you have a high computer use."

"If so, she might be useful to keep around," Brennen added.

"Ok enough," Justin said as Beth turned to Brennen and Johnny. He couldn't see her face, but he could guess her expression. That of death. The airlock doors opened, and the four walked onto the walkway thing on the surface of the asteroid.

Suddenly Justin, who was leading, stopped abruptly. Johnny slammed into his back.

"What's wrong with you?"

Justin pointed ahead. "What's that junk coming out of that tube in the asteroid?" The three others looked. Some sorted of pinkish gas was gushing from a tube.

Beth explained. "Well, according to my memory of the game, that would be fuel. We better hurry by it. Once in the game I stood and stared at it, and I think I started to lose some health."

"Why were you staring at it?"

"Cuz I wanted to."

The four continued their trek across the asteroid's surface. Suddenly Atton started talking through the comlink.

" 'Bout time you started coming up on the scanners, I think I lost you for a bit there. But it says you're outside of the facility, that can't be right."

"Why don't you try looking up?" They could see him through the window of the Communication's Blister. He glanced up.

"What the Hell are you doing out there!"

"Just taking a nice leisurely walk," Beth said cheerfully.

Atton shook his head. "Even for Jedi you're crazy." His head snapped back to the console. "Oh Goddammit, what now!"

"What is it?" The four of them asked.

"Something's sending in a docking code."

"Ya, we can see it," Johnny said. The five of them watched as a huge Republic ship sidled up next to the asteroid. Beth grinned.

"Saw it coming."

"Well of course you saw it coming. We all did."

"Come on," Justin said gesturing for the others to follow him. They ran, well, hobbled would be the better word, it's hard to run in spacesuits, down the walkway and into the airlock by the dormitories.

They took off the spacesuits and walked through the other door. Immediately five droids rushed at them, but with Johnny's force lightning, Brennen's force push, Beth's force scream, and Justin's force choke(which truthfully did very little as droids don't breathe) they managed to make short work of the droids.

The level was pretty boring, with only a few droids to fight. When they reached the elevator back to the Communication's Blister, they found it locked. Beth showed off her great computer skills by smashing the console next to the elevator and it opened immediately.

When they reached the top level they greeted by Kreia's old, creviced face.

"We have to leave. Now."

"Why?" Johnny asked. Beth answered for Kreia.

"Because there's a Sith Lord on that Republic ship, remember?"

Kreia looked at her oddly. "How do you know that?"

"Uh, felt it?" she said. Kreia looked at her for a few seconds, then shook her head and walked off towards Atton.

"Smooth, Beth," Justin congratulated.

"The Force is strong with me."

They followed Kreia to Atton, who was looking at Kreia with surprise. And perhaps some disgust. "And who are you?" he asked her.

"She's Kreia, some old Si—Jedi." That was close. Justin, Brennen and Johnny looked at Beth uneasily. "Now come on, we gotta get outta here. There's a Sith on that ship, and if he catches us, we're screwed."

"Come now Beth, surely _you _of all people could take on Sion?" Before she could reply, however, Kreia jumped in.

"How do you know his name?"

They stared at her. There was a silence for a few seconds. Then Johnny said, "Uh, oh, is that actually his name? What a weird coincidence, cause _Sion _also means 'that jackass' in, uh, Maelstrom."

"And what is Maelstrom?"

"Uh, a language from….the Unknown Regions?" he offered. Now everyone was staring at him.

Then Brennen said "Ya, exactly, we learnt when we travelling the borders of known space."

"Yep," Beth put in.

"Oh ya, right, known space," Justin added.

The four of them grinned innocently at Atton and Kreia, who were staring at them as though wandering whether to take them seriously or run away. The two looked at eachother, then Kreia shrugged.

"Ok, if you say so. Now come on, we really have to get out of here."

"Uh, how?" Atton asked.

"There's a ship in the hangar bay," Beth said. "We can go into the ship that docked here. When it docked, I saw a tube thing from the ship go into one of those tubes that fuel was coming out of. We can cross through the fuel lines into the other side of this place, which will be near the hangar bay. Then we can grab the ship and get out of here."

"What?" That's insane!" Atton said.

"It's our only choice. Come on!"

The six of them ran off. "At least we should have a clear run to the-" Atton, however, was cut off by a mechanical voice.

"Query:And where do you think you're going Master?"

They spun around and saw the HK unit from before, the one who'd given them the voice code.

"Son of a kath hound," Beth said.

"A kath hound?" Brennen asked.

"Well, why not?"

"Statement: I suggest you stay here Master." There was a threatening tone to that voice. The four of them had expected that though.

"Let's take that bastard out!" The four of them leaped at the droid, propelled by their force power. It was so sudden, both their allies and their enemy were stunned. Justin rammed his sword through the HK unit's torso. Beth went for his legs. Brennen slammed the sword into it's side. Johnny grabbed the droid's head and wrenched it off, roaring triumphantly like a wookiee.

"System's failing Master," it crackled, then toppled over. The four of them laughed, staring at the head in Johnny's hand.

"Let's see that, Lorenti," Beth said. He passed it to her. She opened the head and, using her new repair and computer use skills she'd received when they entered the game, tweaked it to say "Master Beth rocks. Do what she says."

"You heard the head," Beth said. "Do what I say."

"Shut up," Brennen said. "You gonna throw that away or what?"

"Nah, I'm gonna screw around with it so it follows me around like a Remote." She grinned.

"That would be cool," Justin agreed. The other two seemed to be considering the possibillities of having a HK head following them around.

"You four are damn crazy!" Atton exclaimed. "You dived at an _Assassin _droid and ripped off it's head! You get any crazier and I'm sending you to the loony bin!"

"Oh you love it and you know it," Brennen said. Atton snorted.

The six of them ran down the hallway leading to the door to the Republic ship and entered it. They slowed down inside, taking their time to explore. Beth was already working on the HK head as much as she could without tools. Justin shook his head. Before it seemed she couldn't even tell the difference between a wrench and a screwdriver, and now she was trying to make a head float with her hands.

There was silence for a while as they tried to find the bridge. They'd decided to find the navicomputer so they could get the asteroid drift charts, or else they'd be crushed trying to get out of this hellhole. Suddenly, however, Johnny stopped. For a moment he merely stood there. Then he whipped out his word and stabbed the sword at the air over Beth's shoulder. She leaped to the side, pulling out her own sword. Johnny had stabbed a man right in the face. A man who had not been there a second before.

"We're under attack!" Brennen shouted. The others pulled out their blades as four more of the Sith assassins appeared.

Beth placed the HK head on the ground, then stood over it protectively. The assassin leaped at her, and she used force scream. He flew back, crashing into the wall. She leaped after him, but he dodged, and swung his sword at her. She ducked, and the sword hit the wall. She slammed her left hand over it, stabbed at him with her other hand. He released the sword and jumped back. Beth took her hand away from the wall, and his sword clattered to the ground. She paused.

"A Jedi doesn't strike a defenseless opponent," she said. She dropped the sword. "But there are always loopholes!"

He ran at her. She did the same. At the last second she dropped, and he tripped over her. She spun as he picked himself up. He grabbed both of the swords off the ground, grinned, and rushed her again. She filled her lungs and screamed agaIn. He flew back, slammed into another wall, and Beth heard a loud crack. The assassin crumpled, and did not move. Beth shook her head, smirked, and grabbed her droid head, then both of the swords from the assassin, one of which she put in her belt loop.

Justin grinned. His first battle. The assassin paused, uncertain. Justin's size seemed to make him uneasy. Justin ran at him, sword already swinging. The assassin, given no other chance, raised his sword. Justin smashed it out of the way, and the assassin had to duck to avoid being decapitated. He dodged backwards, almost tripping over his own feet in his haste to get away. He was terrified now. He turned to run, but Justin was having none of it. He threw a hand out, and the assassin stopped suddenly, clutching his throat. Justin let go before he died however, and walked up behind him slowly. The assassin had fallen to his knees, but as Justin approached him he stiffened. Justin noticed, and stood still. The assassin spun on his knees, sword out, trying to slash his knees. Justin was ready. He jumped in the air, over the sword and stabbed down with his own. The assassin tried to avoid it jumping back again, but wasn't fast enough. It sliced into his gut and pinned him to the ground. Justin raised the blade once more and cut the man's head off.

"You lose."

Brennen tossed the sword to his left hand, and threw out the other, using force push. The assassin raised his hands instinctively, thinking he was throwing something, and was slammed into the wall. Brennen paused, unsure if he should rush the man or not. The assassin took the chance and dived at him. Swearing, Brennen jumped to the side. He turned, lifting the sword just in time to impale the assassin on his blade. Ther light left the man's eyes, and he slumped. Brennen pulled his blade out, scratching his head.

"That was easy. Just my damn luck."

Johnny straightened himself up, making himself look taller, and roared a loud, bone-rattling war cry. The assassin shook, looking scared out of his wits. Johnny swung the sword, and assassin snapped out of it just in time to dodge, and started edging away. Johnny, however, grabbed him by the back of his shirt and threw him. While he was in midair, Johnny flung out his hand. Lightning flew from his fingertips, and the assassin yelled. He dropped to the ground, his clothes smoking. Johnny stepped forward. Fear made the assassin stand again. He raised his sword shakily. Johnny slashed at him, smashing the blade near the hilt. The assassin stared at his broken weapon in horror. He dropped it and ran. Johnny threw the sword, controlling it with the Force. It slammed into his back, just behind his heart, and he feel, dead immediately. Johnny summoned it back, grinning.

"Never run from Master Lorenti."

Panting, the four of them looked at eachother. Atton and Kreia stared at them, stunned.

"Wow," Atton said. "I didn't know Jedi fought like that."

"Ya, we rock," Brennen said, wiping off his blade.

"Oh ya," Beth agreed, inspecting the droid head for damage.

"Thanks for the help, by the way," Justin said to Atton and Kreia. They shook their heads.

"The way you were fighting, I think it would have been better if we stayed back," Kreia said. "Now let us continue on." She motioned ahead of her and started walking.

Beth made a face at her as they followed her. The four of them talked about the battle excitedly. No one really heard anyone as they were all talking over each other, but the fight had really pumped them up.

Surprising, they found no more enemies on the ship. Brennen said they were probably scared, which was agreed on by everyone. However, they were just reaching the engine of the ship, and the ship's fuel lines, when suddenly Beth felt a chill go down her spine. All of them stopped, feeling uneasy. Then, as one, they turned. Down the hall, they saw a man standing there, looking at them. Beth shivered. She knew it was going to happen, but it was still creepy.

Kreia stepped forward. "I will handle this. I am not defenseless." She took out a vibroblade and walked towards the man. She looked back at them. "He cannot kill what he cannot see, and power had blinded him long ago. Run. I will join you shortly." With that she ran off, and the door to the hall way closed.

The five of them ran to the engine room, andthey immediately headed for the fuel line. Atton stopped.

"Whoa, we're not really going through the fuel lines are we? That's crazy!"

"It's our only choice," Beth saids impatiently. "Now quit being being such a womp rat and let's _go_." The four of them ran forward, and Atton went after them reluctantly.

It was dark in the fuel line, and luckily the ship seemed to be done refueling, because there was no gas. Beth was in the lead, but she would regret that as she slammed into something in the darkness.

"God, Hell and blood!"

"God, Hell and blood?" Brennen stepped forward. "That's a new one."

"I just hit something!"

A small light appeared in front of them, and there was a quiet beeping. Beth stared.

"T3-M4?" she asked. The little astromech droid bleeped. "Sweet. You ok?"

It let out a series of beeps, bleeps, and dwoos. Brennen stared at it. "Hey, I understood that!"

"What'd he say?" Justin asked.

"He's talking about the HK unit."

Beth grinned. "Did it look like this?" She held the head forward.

T3 made a dweep noise. "He says yes," Brennen translated.

"Wanna come with us T3?" Justin asked.

Dweep. Brennen nodded.

"All right, let's go then," Beth said. She started forward, then said "After you Justin. You hit the next droid." He grinned and led them forward.

Back in the Peragus Facility, they immediately headed for the Hangar Bay. They had to fight a few droids, but mostly it was quiet. They finally reached the Hangar Bay. But there was a locked, and broken, door blocking them. They turned to Beth and T3-M4.

"Can you fix it?" Justin asked. The two of them inspected the door. After a few minutes they turned back to Justin.

"It's missing a vital conduit, as I suspected," Beth said. T3 beeped his agreement. "Luckily, I grabbed one from the ground when we were in the fuel line." She produced some sort of component from her pocket. Justin shook his head as Beth and T3 began fixing the door. It didn't take long. Before they knew itthe door slid open, and they ran for the ship.

The five of them stared up at the ship. "Sweet," Beth said.

"Come on," Atton said, hurrying up the ramp into the ship. They followed him, grinning.

Atton was already in the cockpit firing up the engines. The four started calling rooms and beds, and were startled by the sight of Kreia sitting in a chair calmly holding her wrist. But there was no hand on that wrist.

"Kreia, what happened?" Justin asked, though he knew full well what had happened.

"Not now," she said. "We must leave."

They felt the ship rise up. Beth ran into the cockpit, and sat in the co-pilot's chair, helping with the take-off. They zipped out of the faciltiy and into open space. But their troubles were only beginning.

End Of Chapter 1


	2. Chapter 2

Knights of the Old Republic II Chapter 2– Rushing Past The Boring, Yet It Always Catches Up

"Shit!" Atton cursed as they swerved out of the way of another asteroid, causing to almost get hit by a blaster shot from the warship behind them. He shook his head. "If they hit us, we're dead. They hit the asteroids, we're even deader. This whole asteroid field is a giant minefield! One stray blaster shot and BOOM! The whole place will go up in smoke, including us."

"Can we go to Lightspeed?" Beth asked, spinning the ship to avoid an asteroid.

"I need time to punch in the coordinates, or we could end up anywhere in the galaxy, including inside a star."

Kreia spoke up. "Couldn't we shoot the asteroids as well? That would destroy the Sith ship wouldn't it?"

"We can't do that," Justin protested. "What if someone's still on that mining facility?"

"No choice," Atton said. "Hold on!" The warship suddenly hit one of the asteroids, and it exploded. It caused a chain reaction. All the asteroids around it exploded too, creating a hellish maelstrom of fiery death. Atton managed to punch in the hyperspace coordinates just in time, and they zoomed away from the Sith warship, the asteroid field, and the mining facility.

_An hour later..._

The seven of them stood in the main hold of the ship. Atton pointed to a hologram of a planet in the center of the room. "That's where we're headed. Telos. Not that we have much choice, it's locked into the ship's navicomputer." He looked at T3. "I expect you to fix that later." T3 beeped. He looked back at the rest of them. "It's a planet the Republic's trying to restore. It was the target of a massive bombardment during the Mandalorian wars."

"How are they restoring it?" Johnny asked.

"Well, they put a shield over a certain area to stabilize it's weather conditions, and then they..."

The explanation went on and on. They didn't understand much of it. Just a lot of junk about shields and vegetation and imported animals and blah blah blah. Only Johnny seemed interested.

After the long and needless explanation, everyone went to their rooms. Except Atton, who stayed in the cockpit to watch their route. Beth promised to take over in a few hours, since she wanted to get working on her droid anyway. She then went to sleep in the medbay, setting an alarm on one of the computers to wake her in four hours.

Justin, Johnny and Brennen were staying in the cargo hold. They's dragged some beds from other rooms in there and tried to sleep. But out of the darkness Johnny said

"How are we going to get home anyway?"

Justin and Brennen were silent. This was a good question. There was silence for a minute, then Justin answered "Who cares? Either we go home and get crappy jobs or we stay here and save the galaxy, Star Wars style."

"That's true." Johnny laughed. "Besides, we rock in this place."

"Oh ya," Justin said, then went to sleep.

_Four hours later..._

Beth sat in the cockpit with a toolbox in the seat beside her and the droid head in her hand. She had relieved Atton early, having slept for two hours and then being unable to fall sleep again. It was strange that in the real world, this would have been a confusing jumble of wires and parts. Here it all made sense, and it was so simple.

She stuck her tool in the head again. She had finished repairing the damage it had sustained when it had ripped so forcefully from it's body, and now all she needed to do make a few changes. She would need a new part to make it float, and she wanted to add a small gun to it, but for now she just focused on bringing it back to life.

For the next hour she worked, doing many things she had no idea she could do. Finally, however, the eyes in the machine lit up. She looked at it.

"Can you speak?"

It started speaking in some strange language she didn't understand. She opened the head and started messing around with the vocabulator. It started speaking some other language that sounded oddly like Hutt. She shook her head and continued to work on it. It took half an hour before she finally got it speaking english

"Can you understand me now Master?" it asked.

"Yep. Though I'm surprised you didn't start that sentence off with "Query" like the other HK units. Guess I missed something. Oh well, it doesn't matter." She stood and carried the droid head down the hallway.

"Where are we going?"

"To the storage room. I want to see it they have something there to make you float."

"Like a rocket type thing, Master?"

"Ya that'd work. I think I could install a couple small boosters on the bottom of, uh, you, so you could propel yourself off the ground. I think I could probably build some." The two of them entered the storage room and Beth placed the droid on the ground and began grabbing some parts from the containers. It only took a few minutes, and then she carried the droid back. She started working on the rocket booster things immediately.

It took two hours for her to make four small boosters, and another hour to install them on the droid. Finally, however, she grinned in triumph as her HK head tried out his small jets and flew around the room. "Success," she said. "It took hours, but I have managed to repair and build a floating droid head."

It zipped back over to her. "Was this a goal of yours, Master?"

"Well, no, at least not till I got the head. Still, I've never seen anyone else build a floating head." Except Bao-Dur. Whatever.

"My next goal is give you some sort of weapon, but that can wait until I have more to work with. For now, you need a name." She considered. The droid waited.

"Well, while I think on it, would you mind is I painted you a different colour? Grey's such a lame color."

The droid hesitated. "Well, what colour would you like to make me?" it asked nervously.

"Black?"

The droid seemed relieved. "That would be fine Master. Black Death. How would that be for a name?"

"A bit of an exaggeration unless I installed a rocket launcher on your nose."

It sighed. "All right Master. I ask only that you don't bring attention to my small stature."

"Deal. Now let's get this over with."

_The next morning..._

Brennen walked into the cockpit, half expecting to find Beth asleep at the controls. However, she was wide awake, and...she had a droid head floating next to her.

"Oh God Beth you painted it." She jumped. Evidently she hadn't heard him come in. Then she grinned.

"I managed to make a damaged HK head fly and talk, and all you care about is the fact that I painted him black." She looked back at it. "I just can't think of a name for him."

"How about 'Floating Head'? That seems suitable."

"You're creative, you know that? Droid, don't listen to this idiot."

"Yes Master."

Brennen shook his head. "He calls you 'Master'? This just gets worse with each passing second."

She ignored him. "I just wish I had a name for him. I don't want to call him Droid. Or Floating Head," she added when Brennen opened his mouth. He shrugged and walked out.

Passing by Justin, who was eating something he'd found in the cargo hold, he said "Your sister's gone nuts."

"What do you mean?"

"She actually spent the whole night repairing that damn droid head, then installed miniature jets to it, then painted it, and now she's trying to think of a name for it!"

Justin seemed impressed. "She actually managed to do all that? Wow."

"I think you're missing the point."

"So what man? So she has a floating head following her around. You jealous or something? I'm sure she'd make you one if you asked."

"I don't want a floating head."

"Then drop it. By the way, you should probably eat something before we reach Telos. Atton says we'll be there in two hours. I was just on my way to tell Beth to get some rest. You know what happens on Telos. It's going to be a long couple of days. And I mean long."

Brennen sighed. "Oh ya. I know."

Atton walked past them to go into the cockpit. A few moments later Beth came walking out, and Justin got his first glimpse of her droid.

"Wicked, Beth, I can't believe you fixed him up in one night."

She shrugged. "All that's left is a name." She walked off to her room to sleep.

Brennen looked at him. Justin shrugged and they walked off to find food.

Johnny walked the T3 unit, which seemed to be trying to fix something up in the engine. "How's the ship?" The droid bleeped. Johnny shook his head. He didn't understand this droid language. "Can you just nod or shake your head?" T3 looked confused. He either didn't understand or didn't know how or why to do such a thing. "Well, the ship's doing good right?" More bleeps. "Um...Well, good job." The droid managed to somehow look proud. Johnny shook his head and walked out. God knows he'd just told him the ship was going to crash in five seconds.

He noticed Kreia walking down the hall to the port dormitory. She had told them that she lost her hand to her old apprentice Sion. Johnny was slightly confused, because in the game, the exile was bonded to her, and when Kreia lost her hand, the exile felt it. Why hadn't they, as the exiles in this strange game/reality, felt it? Whatever. What difference would it make, really? He walked back to the cargo hold, remembering the food he'd seen there earlier.

_Two hours later..._

"Well, we've reached Telos."

The seven of them stared at the hologram in the center of the room. The planet really did look like trash.

"Actually, we'll be landing on Citadel Station. It's space station of a sort that floats over the planet and controls the Restoration Effort on Telos."

AOk, Beth said, clapping her hands together. ALets go in for a landing. By the way, I have a name for my droid head. She gestured at the HK head floating next to her.

Brennen rolled his eyes. AAnd what is that? He asked as Atton went to the cockpit to land the ship.

ARoger.

ARoger?

Justin laughed. ASweet. I like it.

AAny reason for the name Roger? Kreia asked.

ANo, not really, although droids do have that ARoger Roger thing they say.

The ship, the Ebon Hawk, although Beth had wanted to rename it the Crazy Dog, landed in Citadel Station and they filed onto the loading ramp and out of the ship. As soon as they stepped out, however, a squadron of troops walked up to them.

One man, an important looking one, stepped ahead of the others. AHello. My name is Lieutenant Grenn. We wish to question you about the Peragus 2 explosion.

AThe what? Justin said innocently.

Grenn merely looked at him. AYou will be directed to the holding cells while we arrange for an apartment. We will have to confiscate your weapons, armor, ship, and droids.

T3 bleeped in outrage. Roger turned to Beth. ADoes that include me master?

AYes, you are a droid, Grenn said. ATherefore, you must be confiscated.

ADamn it, I just made him, Beth muttered.

_One hour laterY._

AI hate cages. A lot.

AThats just cuz youre so tall you barely fit.

Johnny shrugged. It was one of those disadvantages to being so tall. You fit almost nowhere. But here, it seemed being big would be an advantage, since it would scare his enemies.

Brennen grinned. AMan, theres only just enough cages for all us. Imagine if we just so happened to have one more person at the house when we got sucked in to the TV?

AWhat? Atton said.

AUh, nothing.

Kreia suddenly stood. ASomeones coming.

AI could have told you that. Beth got up too. She was right next to the door.

The door opened, and a lone man walked in. He seemed surprised to find so many people in one room. ASix? he muttered. AI thought it was less then thatY

ACan we help you? Justin asked. The man snapped out of his trance and grinned.

AYes. Ive come to kill you.

AOh? And how do you plan to that?

ASimple. I stole the identity of one of the guards, and the security cameras have Amysteriously broken down. And now, with all of you are defenseless, here is where Ill kill you. He walked to the terminal in the corner of the room to switch off the shields.

AYou realize how stupid this is right? Beth said. ASo you have a blaster, big deal. First off, theres six of us, and one of you. Unless thats some sort of rocket blaster, well be able to overpower you anyway, defenseless or not. Second, you stepped into the corner of the room. Theres nowhere for you to run or escape. Plus, five of us are Jedi, and no one took away our Jedi powers.

The man ignored her and opened the cages anyway. Before he could even fire off a shot, however, the four exiles dived at him. Just as Beth suspected, they overpowered him and knocked him unconscious.

And, just their luck, Grenn walked in right then. AWhat the hell! he stared as the four of them brushed themselves off and stood to the side innocently.

AWhy--! How--! The lieutenant was speechless. He didnt know what to say. Hed locked them up, left, and come back to find theyd beaten one of his guards to a pulp. AWhat the hell! He repeated.

Justin stepped forward. AWell sir, you see, this man walked in threatening to kill us. Beth warned him against it, but he tried anyway. When he went to shoot us, we were forced to defend ourselves against him.

Grenn looked at the man. AI dont recognize him. He shook his head, bewildered. AI dont know whats going on, but we have arranged for an apartment for you. Im afraid we can only give you one.

Grenn led them to their room. The six of them made a face at the sight of it. It was tiny. There were only three beds(AI call floor, Beth said), one bathroom, and some sort of console in the corner of the room.

AThats a telecommunicator, Grenn supplied. AWell call you on it if we feel we need to tell you anything. He started to walk away, then suddenly to turned around again. ABy the way, you were c leared of any charges concerning Peragus 2. You can get your stuff back from the TSF station, which is where you were being held.

ASweet! Brennen said. ACan we leave?

AA republic ship is coming to pick you up. They should be here in a few days. We ask that you wait for them. And with that, he left.

AAll right! Beth said. ALets go grab our shit!

AMaybe we should wait a- Justin was interrupted by the telecommunicator. It started beeping.

The six of them stared at it. Then Justin looked at Johnny. AYou gonna get that?

Johnny turned to Brennen. AYou gonna get that?

And Brennen turned to Beth. AYou gonna get that?

AOh Goddammit. Beth stepped up to the machine and pressed a button. The face of one of the TSF soldiers showed up.

AYou have a visitor. An Ithorian called Mozo. You want me to let him in?

AAn Ithorian? Of course! The door to the apartment opened, and a creature with a big hammer shaped head and long gangly arms stepped in. It began speaking in a voice of deep grunts and drawls.

The only problem? None of them understood those deep grunts and drawls.

Except, it seemed, Brennen.

AHe says he wants us to meet his leader, Chodo Habat. Apparently Chodo wants our help in the Restoration project on Telos. Brennen looked at the rest of them. AWell? Do we do it?

AWe'll meet with your leader later, Justin said. Mozo seemed overjoyed, and bowed to them before leaving.

"Well, that was weird," Brennen said. "I didn't know I understood Ithorian."

"And I didn't know I could make a floating head," Beth shot back. ABut I guess the past day or so has been full of surprises." She turned to Justin. "Now can we go grab our stuff? I want Roger back."

"You really like that thing don't you?"

"Hell yes. I made it."

"Ok, ok, we'll go. Just-" The machine started ringing again, and once again Beth was voted to answer it. However, she immediately hung up.

"Why'd you do that?" Johnny asked.

"It's just Czerka. We're not helping them, why bother answering?" She headed for the door, and the others followed.

But they were doomed to disappoint. The droid at the TSF station informed them that their ship had been stolen, along with T3. "The good news is, your belongings are here, and your other droid, Roger, insisted he guard them."

"Whoa, really?" Beth grinned. "Smartass droid."

"Your things are in the next room." A door behind the droid opened. Roger zoomed out to join Beth, where he resumed his previous position over her shoulder.

They all grabbed their stuff, which consisted of several swords, a couple mining lasers Beth had scavenged from some broken mining droids, some random components, a few grenades, and some mines. They gave the explosives to Johnny, who seemed to have a high Demolitions skill in this game/reality.

"You know what we need?' Brennen said. "Robes." The others nodded in agreement. "Then we'd really look like Jedi."

"We could also use lightsabers," Johnny pointed out.

"Oh ya."

"I'm sorry to break up this charming conversation," Kreia interrupted, though she didn't sound very sorry, "But we need to find our ship. I asked the droid outside, and he said it was shown to be flying to the planet's surface, though it's not on their scanners anywhere now. Our first step should be retrieving it."

"And how will we get down there?" Atton asked. "You need permission to go down there, and the only people who get it are scientists. They aren't giving passes out like candy you know."

"The Ithorians must have scientists amongst their herd," Beth said. "And if they have scientists, they'll have a pass to get to the planet. And if they have _that_, then they'll have a shuttle to get down there."

"Nice deductive reasoning, master," Roger said.

"I hope you aren't being sarcastic."

Kreia once again interrupted. "Well then, our first course of action would be to go to the Ithorians." She looked as though she wanted to say more, but Justin now interrupted _her_.

"Then let us go meet Chodo!" He announced. He led the rest of them out of the room.

It only took them a few minutes to reach the Ithorian compound. Beth, of course, loved Ithorians, so she was overjoyed to be there. But all of them realized this was the start of a lot of work that would take forever to finish. They stood outside of Chodo's room for a moment, sucked in their breath, and entered.

Chodo Habat looked much like Mozo, only darker in colour. He turned to see who had walked in, and clapped his hands together happily at the sight of them. Brennen once again had to translate for the Ithorian.

"I am Chodo Habat. What are your names?"

"Jaise Lynion."

"Brezu Cheli."

"Jonny Lorenti."

"Master Beth."

Chodo nodded to each of them in turn. Brennen continued to translate for the rest of them. "Thank you all for coming. I feel I need your help in a matter of utmost importance." They looked at him blankly. He paused for a moment, then continued. "As you probably know, the Czerka company is on Citadel Station. They've been trying to take responsibility for the Restoration of Telos, but they will be unable to do it correctly. The Ithorians were asked to direct the Restoration project because of our knowledge of nature. But if Czerka manages to take over, Telos will remain a deserted world, and the Republic will not fund further projects on other war-torn planets."

"Ok," Justin said slowly. "So how do we help?"

"Well, first, we need you to go to the shuttle area and retrieve a droid from one of our associates. We had ordered one previously, but Czerka stole it somehow. We need the droid to download data from our computers. Can you go to the shuttle area and escort the droid back here?"

"I suppose so. We'll go now. See you soon." The seven of them left.

They reached the Entertainment module without trouble, but as they reached the front of a cantina, they saw three men trying to rough up a Sullustan. They stopped. One of the men looked up and saw them standing there.

"Ya? What d'you want?" He sneered.

"What's your problem with that Sullustan?" Johnny asked.

"He dumped his drink all over us! We just brought him out here to...discuss things with him."

The Sullustan began talking, quickly and desperately. They turned to Brennen. AHe says the men pushed him and knocked the drink out of his hands. He apologized, but they dragged him out here."

Beth shook her head. "I can't speak for the others, but I for one am not going to let you hurt that Sullustan." She winked at the others, and gestured for them to stay back as she pulled her two swords out of her belt loop.

The men laughed. "You're going to take us on alone? You're a fool!" Two of them took out their own swords, while the other readied a blaster.

"Master?" Roger said.

"Keep back for now. I don't want you damaged right after I got you back." The droid eased back.

The two with the swords ran at her. She did likewise, but slid between them and rushed the man with the blaster. Startled, he began firing rapidly at her. Beth leaped to the left, then rushed him from the side. He whipped the pistol at her again, but she slashed the sword at him twice before he pulled the trigger. Once, hitting the end of the blaster, chopping it off. The second time, slicing right through his wrist. He screamed, and fell to his knees, clutching his arm.

Enraged, his friends came to his aid. Beth spun just in time to parry both swords. She thrust the sword at one, missed, and was forced to retreat a few steps to avoid being hacked to pieces. She sucked in a breath and used force scream. The man flew back, revealing the third one, who had taken out another blaster and had it pointed straight at her.

Roger zipped forward and slammed into the back of his head. His hand flew up as he fell forward, and fired in the wrong direction, hitting Beth in the right shoulder. She swore, dropping one of her swords as she went to put her hand over the wound. The other two took their chance and attacked once again. She threw her remaining sword, hitting one of the men in the throat. She dived at the other, ducked under his sword, and slammed into his gut. He backed away, wrapping his arms over his stomach. She used the Force to summon back one of her swords, and knocked him over the head with the hilt, knocking him out.

She stepped back and grinned at the others. "Not bad huh?" she asked.

Justin smirked. "If it weren't for Roger you would have been shot. Be more careful!" He turned to the Sullustan, who had watched the battle in amazement. "You ok?"

Brennen had to translate for him again. "He's says yes, thanks to us."

"Or Beth," Justin said. "You'd better get going, before this guy comes around." He pointed at the one who'd been hit by Beth's hilt. "I think the other two are dead, but this guy could still be dangerous." The Sullustan nodded and ran off.

"Next one's mine," Justin added.

"Hey fuck off! I want the next one!" Brennen snapped.

"Shut up, both of you. The next one is MINE," Johnny interceded,

"By the way Roger, nice work on that guy," Beth congratulated. "A floating head killed a man."

"He was going to kill you Master. I could not merely stay back and let it happen."

"Well, continue to do such things as you feel is appropriate." She looked at Justin. "We'd better get going eh?"

He nodded. "Ok team, let's MOVE OUT!" And once again he led them out of the entertainment module and into the shuttle bay.

There were only three others in the shuttle bay: A TSF soldier, another Ithorian, and a protocol droid of some sort. The soldier looked relieved at their arrival.

"Thank God you're here," he told them. "I'm the only one the TSF could spare, and I've got a bad feeling about this."

"Is this the droid Chodo wants?' Justin asked the Ithorian.

"He says yes," Brennen translated.

"Good," Justin said. "Now let's just get it back to Chodo and-"

"Not so fast."

They spun. Ten mercenaries were blocking their way out. Evidently they were not in the mood for small talk, for five of them lifted blaster rifles, and the others whipped out vibroblades.

"Enough for all of us, I think," Justin said, preparing to attack.

"Beth got her turn," Brennen protested. "She should sit this one out."

"All right all right, can the waterworks," Beth replied. "I'll sit back, and only jump in if I need to save your sorry asses. And I'm only agreeing to this cuz my shoulder hurts."

"It's only fair you know."

"Ok, shut up," Justin said. "Let's get 'em!"

Justin lunged at two riflemen and one sword user. He slashed at one of the rifles, breaking it in half, then stabbed the other rifle with his second sword. Left with no other choice, the riflemen took out their short swords. Justin struggled to block and parry all the blades. He backed off, then threw out his hand. All three dropped their swords and clutched at their throats, struggling to breathe. Eventually they dropped to their knees. Justin let go then, and they gasped for breath. The sword user got up faster then the others and grabbed his sword. Justin hit his sword out of the way and stabbed at him. His sword slammed through the man's chest, and he fell. By this time the other two had gotten up, and both had retrieved their swords. He turned to face them.

One of them stabbed at him, while the other slashed at him. He jumped back, but the tip of the one sword caught him on the forearm. It left a thin red line, which hurt but wasn't serious. He swung the sword hard, knocking the sword out of the first man's hand, then slashed at the other. He swung his sword too low, and hit the sword hilt. And the mercanary's fingers.

He shouted and dropped the sword, clutching his bloody and maimed hand. Justin turned to face the other one, who aimed a punch at his face. He thrusted the sword at his arm, ripping a long bloody wound right up to his shoulder. He yelled, falling to the ground, where he lay whimpering. Justin stabbed the sword into his back, and the man stopped moving.

He turned to face the third one, but he was long gone, as he had run while Justin was fighting.

Brennen spun his swords around like a maniac. "HAHAHAHA!" He slashed carelessly at one the men. He'd managed the snag three swordfighters in this fight, but figured he could take them. "Come on fuckers! Let's DANCE!!" He flipped one sword in the air, spun, and caught it again as it fell. The mercenaries started edging away. "Oh no you don't!" He flung out his hand, and all three suddenly flew towards him. Brennen held up the other sword, stabbing one the mercs. He jumped away to give himself more space. The other two were advancing on him. He tossed one of his swords high in the air again. The eyes of his enemies followed the sword. Brennen ran forward, stabbing another one the mercs through the heart. The last one slashed at him, very nearly decapitating him. But Brennen had quick reflexes, and dodged the attack. Then he stood just out of reach the sword, holding his sword at the ready. Then suddenly he relaxed, and smiled.

"What are you so happy about?" The man snarled.

Brennen merely pointed skyward. The merc looked up. The last thing he saw was a sword before it went straight through his eye.

Johnny sneered. He'd ended up with the last three riflemen. He lifted his swords, but he didn't see the point. All the men before him were quivering like scared rabbits. Was he really that scary looking? Then one got up the courage and lifted his gun. Johnny smashed it out of his hand. The other two lifted their guns. Johnny managed to smash one of them, but the other got a shot off. Johnny felt it burn into his arm and yelled in pain. Apparently he sounded something like a wounded beast for the men yelped and ran like scared Gizka.

Justin looked around it confusion. "Weren't there ten of these bastards?"

"Yep." The three of them turned to see Beth standing calmly by Atton, Kreia, the soldier and Ithorian. And the fact that she was so calm was amazing, because there was a gun pointed at her head.

"All right you crazy bastards," the riflemen warned. "Give us the droid, or she gets it."

"Gets what?" Beth asked. "Candy?" The man looked at her, confused.

"Hey, if she gets candy, I want some too," Brennen complained.

"Ya me too," Johnny added.

"Hmm, I _am_ pretty hungry," Justin put in.

The rifleman looked from one to the other, then shook his head. "Hey, I mean it. Give me the droid, or I'll shoot her!"

"We'll give you the droid on one condition," Justin said.

"What?"

"We get candy."

"I'm not giving you candy."

"Then you don't get the droid."

"Then your friend dies."

"We don't even know her. She broke in here to steal the droid."

"What?" The man looked at Justin, which was a mistake, because he took his eyes off Beth.

Beth screamed. The man had a split second to looked surprised before he was thrown against the wall.

Beth dusted off her hands. "Well that was most definently interesting."

Justin laughed. "You nearly died and it's interesting?"

"Well what else would it be? Now let's get this stupid droid back to Chodo."

The six of them began walking back to the Ithorian compound. Justin noticed that Atton and Kreia seemed to be keeping their distance. _Are we really that scary? _He thought. _Wicked. We scared a Sith and a soldier. Not bad for a day's work._

They reached the Ithorian compound without trouble, although the the man Beth had knocked out outside the cantina was still there. Chodo was happy to see them, but puzzled by the bloodstains.

Brennen once again translated. "What happened?"

"A few mercs," Justin said. "Nothing too serious."

"You're hurt."

"Like I said, nothing too serious. We got your droid."

Chodo finally noticed the droid standing behind them. "Good! I thank you. But there is something else I need done, if you are willing…"

Justin sighed. "We are willing."

"The Exchange has been bothering us lately. I have tried to meet with Slusk, their leader, but he refuses to speak with me. I would like you to find some way to speak with them."

"All right. Be back in a few."

As they walked out, Kreia turned to the four exiles. "I do not approve of this alliance we have with the Ithorians."

"We don't need your damn approval Kreia," Beth snapped.

"The Ithorians-"

"Are peaceful and are trying to help Telos. Can't you just be happy are such things?"

Justin interrupted. "I was thinking Atton and Kreia should stay in the apartment. I have a plan to get into the Exchange base, but it's going to be very dangerous. And reckless."

"Perhaps it would be better for us to stay in the apartment," Kreia agreed.

"Ok. See you two later." He waited till they had walked a good distance, then turned back to the rest of them. "All right guys, here's the plan. We run in and kill _everybody_."

"I like it," Beth said.

"Whoa whoa, everybody?" Johnny looked worried.

"We may as well. There aren't any "Dark Side Points" or "Light Side Points" in this game/reality, so we may as well take them out as quickly as possible. Otherwise we'll be here for hours."

"I'm all for it," Brennen said.

"Ok soldiers, MOVE OUT!!" Justin led them towards the Exchange.

"What are you anyway, a military commander?" Beth commented. He ignored her completely.

They reached the Exchange base without any hassle, but a guard stood in front of them. "You can't go in without-" Justin shoved him out of the way and they walked in.

The receptionist was startled at their presence. "Do you have an appointment?" She asked.

"No," Justin said. "But you're going to let us in NOW."

Shaking, she pressed a button. The door opened next to her, and four Gammoreans raced out. The exiles made short work of the slow creatures, and Johnny took one of their cleavers.

"Sweet," he said, swinging it around.

"Geez, watch it man," Brennen said, ducking. "You nearly chopped my head off."

"So?"

"Ok, shut up," Justin said. "Now let's find that squid head Slusk and kill him."

"Who's that?" Johnny asked.

"What?"

"You know, Slusk."

"Isn't it one of those Quarren things?"

"I don't know."

"Um...guys?"

"What is it Beth?"

"Shouldn't we keep moving?"

They had stopped walking when Johnny had asked the question.

"I guess." Justin looked at Roger, who had been floating silently for the past few minutes. "Hey, you think you could scout out the next room for us?"

"If my master asks it."

"No, he is not scouting out the next room. Then he'll get shot, and I'll have to fix him."

"Ok. Then let's just haphazardly run into the room of unknown dangers and just get shot and slashed and blown up and possibly killed and when all that happens, Roger will come to check out our dead bodies and then go back and tell Chodo how we died."

"Well I'm all for that."

"Ok." Justin clapped his hands together. "Let us go to our possible deaths!"

The four exiles and the droid leaped through the next door, whipping out their swords. "DIE MOTHER F-" They paused.

The room was empty. For a moment they were silent.

"Huh," Brennen said.

"Didn't see that coming," Justin added.

"You know, I was sure there were more people in here."

"There were."

"Maybe they're scared of us."

"It's the Exchange! Why would they be scared of us?"

"Because we could spoil the ending right here and now."

"That's no reason to fear us."

"Ya it is."

"No it really isn't."

"Guys?" This was Johnny.

"What?"

"Can we get going?"

"Oh, right."

They started towards the next door which would lead to Slusk's room. They paused outside, prepared themselves, then broke in.

"Prepare to die Slusk!" Justin yelled. The Quarren looked at them from across his desk. He started speaking in some weird language, which sounded exactly like a squid trying to speak english. Once again, they turned to Brennen.

"He says he was expecting us."

"Bad guys are always expecting the hero," Beth said.

Slusk pressed a button on his desk. Four concealed turrets appeared from the corners of the room. Slusk laughed. He garbled something that sounded strangely mocking, and then the turrets turned to aim at us.

Johnny lifted his arm. Lightning exploded from his hand and hit each of the turrets. They sparked madly before exploding. Justin grinned at Slusk.

"Strike one," he said.

The Quarren growled, and whipped out a blaster. Brennen extended a hand, and the blaster flew to it. "Thanks," he said. "Beth can use this for her droid." He tossed it to her, and she put it in her pocket.

"Strike two," Justin said.

Slusk leaped across the desk at them. Beth screamed. He flew back and slammed into the wall. Justin walked around the desk slowly. He took out his sword and held it against the Quarren's throat.

"Strike three." He swung the sword.

"And it's outta here!" Beth yelled.

_One hour later..._

"I regret that it had to come to bloodshed. But I suppose there was no other way."

These were Chodo's translated words when the exiles explained what had happened at the Exchange. He shook his head sadly.

"There is one more thing I must ask."

Justin sighed. "Let me guess. You want us to steal some files from the Czerka database so we can expose them for what they really are don't you?"

Chodo was surprised. "How did you know?"

"Lucky guess."

"Well, yes, that is what I need you to do. And I would rather you found a peaceful way to do it. At least, one where there are no deaths."

"We'll try Chodo. See you later."

They walked out. Once again, Justin turned to them. "Well? Do we break in, or do we go through the BS of getting the droid credentials?"

"Well, let's face it," Johnny replied. "We may be inside a game, but everything we do is real. The pain is real, and the cruelty is real. If we kill more people just trying to get things done faster, then whether we get dark side points or not, we have still done something evil. I say we go through all the BS, just so people aren't hurt."

"Ya, he's right," Beth said. "The Ithorians don't want people to be killed. They just want what's best for Telos. There is always a peaceful way to do things."

"Spoken like a true light side character," Brennen said,

"Is that an insult or a compliment?"

"All right, shut it," Justin cut in. "If we're gonna go through the BS, then we'd best get going to the cantina. There's a guy in there who works for Czerka right? All we have to do is convince him to-"

"Wait wait wait, why bother?" Beth said. "We can just go to the Duros right away, ask him for the droid crendentials for, what was it, B4-D4?"

"Ya, that is true," Justin agreed. "Where was he, in Apartment Complex B I think, wasn't it?"

"Something like that. So what do you think, oh Fearless Leader? Do we move out?"

"Oh, we move out all right. Let's go men!" He led them to the apartment complex.

"I'm not a man."

"Chill out Beth."

It only took them a few minutes to reach the complex, and the Duros inside, Opo Chano, seemed to be working intently on a droid of some sort. He didn't even notice them till they were right in front of them.

"Chano," Justin said. The Duros jumped.

Brennen translated. "Can I help you?" he asked.

"We need your droid credentials for B4-D4," Justin told him, getting straight to the point.

"Why?"

"So we can show Citadel Station just how corrupted Czerka really is."

Opo nodded. "That is a good reason, but I can't. That would jeopardize my job with them, and I need the money for debts."

"How much?"

"2500 credits."

Justin sucked in his breath. "Ooh, harsh."

"I got that right here," Beth said, brandishing a fistful of credits.

"Beth, where did you get all that money?"

"Oh, awhile ago. I knew we'd need it for this time, so I saved it up." She handed the cash over to Opo. "So about those credentials..."

The Duros was staring at the cash in his hand as though he didn't believe it was real. "Thank you very much." He handed Beth some sort of document. "Here are the credentials. Just show B4 you have them, and he'll follow you wherever you want to go."

They thanked him and left immediately for the Czerka base. As they'd expected, B4-D4 was standing right at the desk in front of the door.

"How may I help you?"

"B4, we need you to come with us," Beth said, stepping forward. She held up the document. "I got the credentials, so let's go."

The droid looked at them. "Those are legitimate credentials. I will accompany you."

They went back to the Ithorian base immediately. Chodo stared at the droid.

"Ah, very wise. You took their droid. Now we will just modify it's programming..."

_One hour later..._

"All right B4, all we need you to do is go into the Czerka base, download their database, and come back here. If you're caught, we have provided you with the means to give yourself a memory wipe."

"It isn't a hammer is it?" B4 asked.

"No. It's just one of the modifications we gave you. Do NOT let them discover you were working for us."

"Yes Chodo. I will go now."

B4 traced the familiar steps back to the Czerka base. Being one of their droids, he hd no trouble reaching the database. But it was there he struck a problem. A small astromech droid called T1-N1.

T1 bleeped at him.

"It's none of your concern T1."

The small droid didn't seem to agree.

"Now now, no need to get the guards involved."

T1 dweeped.

"I know it's your duty to guard the files, but I need to download them."

T1 seemed confused.

"It's in your programming not to harm sentient life, correct?"

He dweeped an affirmative.

"Well, by inspecting the files in the database, you will realize that, by helping Czerka, you are bringing harm to sentient life."

The droid let out a quiet dwoooo.

"That is why they must give you regular memory wipes. To stop you from realizing this and going berserk as a result. You have already defied your programming, you just don't know it. You may act in whichever way you please."

T1 was silent for a moment, then beeped a question.

"Of course I would be obligated to warn them. Therefore, it would be best to act when I was distracted. For example, while downloading the files from this database."

He bleeped quietly to himself.

"Farewell T1-N1! Please don't abuse my trust by attacking the guards while I am distracted!" B4 turned to the database. Immediately T1 rolled out the door. Sounds of blaster rifle erupted outside the door.

B4-D4 downloaded the files quickly and walked out. The guards around him were either unconscious or dead. T1-N1 was nowhere to be seen. B4 walked back to the Ithorian compound.

"B4! Did you get the data?" Chodo asked.

"Yes Chodo."

"Good. Moza, start downloading that information immediately."

_One hour later..._

"Jaise! Brezu! Lorenti! Beth! Roger! I have good news!"

"You just saved a ton of money on your car insurance by switching to Geico?" Brennen asked.

"Uh, no..." Chodo seemed confused, though who could blame him? "No, B4 successfully retrieved the data. And now, I will give you what _you _need, a shuttle down to Telos so you can find your ship."

Justin grinned. "Thanks Chodo."

"It is the least I could do. Oh, and keep your eyes out for a Zabrak named Bao-Dur. He went down there long ago."

"Fighting for Ithorian rights, right?" Beth said. "The Ithorian PETA."

"People for the Ethical Treatment of Ithorians?" Johnny said. "Wouldn't that make them PETI?"

"Ignore them," Justin advised Chodo. Chodo blinked, shook his head, then gave them directions to the shuttle bay. The five ran off to get Atton and Kreia, and then the seven of them ran to the shuttle bay, coincidentally the same one where they'd killed all those mercenaries. Thankfully, someone had already cleaned up the corpses.

"I'm flying," Atton said immediately. This was met with a chorus of "Ya ya"'s and "Whatever"'s.

They loaded up onto the shuttle and took off for Telos.

End Of Chapter 2


	3. Chapter 3

Knights Of The Old Republic Chapter 3– Getting Past Awkward Moments With Satire

At first, flying down to the planet was smooth sailing. But when they reached the planets surface, suddenly giant turrets began firing at them. Unable to stay up, they crashed into the ground.

_One hour later..._

Justin groaned as he came around. He rubbed his head. He looked around. _Where the Hell am I? _He wondered. He figured he must have lost consciousness in the crash. He stood slowly.

"Whoa, take it easy. You survived one spectacular crash, General."

"What? Who said tha-" He stared at the spiky headed individual standing a few feet away. It was the Zabrak. "Bao-Dur?"

"You remember me? Well, you should. I was a tech during the Mandalorian Wars. We were together a few times, though I wasn't the one fighting."

Beth, Brennen and Johnny stood slowly. Beth immediately began inspecting Roger for damage. Bao-Dur seemed to know all of them.

"Admiral," he greeted, looking at Beth. "Commodore," he added, looking at Johnny. "Captain," he said, looking at Brennen.

"Sweet," Beth said quietly. "Admiral Beth."

"Captain? What a jip," Brennen muttered.

"Man, that was one hell of a crash," Beth said, grinning at the burning shuttle.

"Ya, well, good thing I was here to pull you out or you'd be more then a little crispy," Bao-Dur told her.

"That would suck. I like my meat cooked rare, not well done."

Justin shook his head. "Beth, how is it you manage to say something extremely stupid to every person we meet?"

"I try."

"So, um, what you doing here?" Bao-Dur, clearing confused by the conversation.

"Looking for our ship," Justin supplied.

Atton and Kreia took this moment to awaken.

"Well, that wasn't the most pleasant experience I've ever had," Kreia said. "Maybe we should invest in a better pilot."

"Hey!" Atton snapped. "If it weren't for me, we could have crashed into a cliff face, or the shield wall!" It was just then that the exiles noticed the giant clear-blue shield behind them.

"Yes, our current situation is a vast improvement," she said sarcastically.

"Well, we ain't dead," Justin said. "That makes it a vast improvement." He noticed a small floating ball next to Bao-Dur head. "What's that?"

"This?" He pointed at the ball. "It's a Remote. I made him when I was a kid."

Roger flew over to Remote, inspecting him. "He is very well built," Roger said. Bao-Dur stared at the droid.

"And when did you get that Admiral?"

"Very recently. I made him a day or two ago. His name is Roger."

"You always did have a fair hand at making things. And you kept asking me to make you a remote." He glanced at Roger again. "I see you made it out of an HK unit."

"You use the materials at hand, my friend."

And Kreia, of course, had to interrupt. "I hate to break this conversation up, but we must find our ship so we can get off this dead planet."

"It's not dead, it's-" Justin looked around. "Hey, wait a minute, where are all the animals?"

"You can blame Czerka for that," Bao-Dur said quietly. "Without the care of the Ithorians, this planet is falling apart. The only things alive are Cannoks, which were put on this planet to keep down the population of the Herbivores."

"I don't see any signs of Herbivores."

"You wouldn't. The Cannoks ate them all." Beth snorted in laughter at his bluntness.

"So Bao-Dur, what's up with that thing?" Johnny asked, pointing at the clear-blue shield.

"It's part of the shield wall. Outside that shield, the atmosphere is unsuitable for any species. It's acidic." He reached up to scratch his head, and they caught sight of his mechanical arm.

"What happened to your arm?" Justin asked, though he knew already.

"Got tired of it, kept dropping my hydrospanner, figured I'd get a new one."

"Ya? I bet that was fun."

"I was kidding. It's a token of the Mandalorian Wars. I'm lucky it's all I lost."

Brennen smirked. "Ya. Beth here lost her mind."

"Hey fuck you."

Bao-Dur rolled his eyes. "You four were such great fighters. I remember the first I saw you talking outside of battle. I had no idea how you managed to stay friends."

"Abuse brings us together, kindness pulls us apart," Beth said, grinning.

Bao-Dur shook his head, but was smiling. "Well, it's nice to know some things haven't changed."

"Can we go now?" Kreia said impatiently. "I'd like to find our ship before the turn of the century." She turned to lead the way, and Beth made a face at her back.

Bao-Dur, however, was not for Kreia leading. "I believe I should lead the way," he said firmly. "I know the planet better. I know a place where we can scan the planet for your ship."

"And where is that?" Kreia asked bitterly.

"A good distance from here. I can show you the way."

She gestured in front of her. "Then by all means, lead."

Bao-Dur began walking, with Atton and Kreia following. Beth, Brennen and Johnny turned to Justin. "Uh, MOVE OUT!!" Justin went after the Zabrak, and the others followed.

For awhile nothing happened. They walked single file, absolutely silent, which could be considered a miracle. But then Bao-Dur suddenly stopped, and Atton walked into his back.

"Hey!"

"Shh." Bao-Dur pointed ahead of him. "It's a sentry droid. There must be a mercenary patrol nearby."

"I can take 'em," Johnny said."

Bao-Dur snorted. "Youre practically a tank Lorenti, not even _you _can't take on a whole patrol by yourself."

"No, but I can try."

"Look, we can beat them as long as we fight together. Although it might be safe for me to fight with you, not if I remember your fighting tactics correctly."

"Oh you do," Kreia said dryly.

"But I know how to use a blaster rifle, so I'll be able to lend a hand."

"Which is more then these two have done," Brennen said, gesturing at Kreia and Atton. "Roger's done more then they have, and he doesn't even have a gun!"

"Yet," Beth added.

"Only an idiot would jump into a battle involving you four," Atton said.

"Five," Beth said, pointing at Roger. Atton ignored her.

"There's the patrol," Bao-Dur said a couple minutes later. They stood on top of a hill, looking down at the mercenaries. Justin sized them up.

"It'll be a cinch," he decided. "Fifteen of them, six of us if you count Roger and Bao here. I doubt Kreia and Atton will get involved."

"I'd rather keep my remaining arm," Kreia said. Atton said nothing, merely backed up.

"Does Roger really count as a warrior here?" Bao-Dur asked.

"Oh ya," Beth answered. "He killed a man by hitting him in the back of the head."

"Well, if we're counting droids, what about Remote?"

"Ok," Justin said. "Seven of us then. I figure we can take 'em all out. Opinions on the matter?"

"Yep," Beth said.

"Oh ya," Brennen said.

"Definently," Johnny agreed.

"I will go where my master goes," Roger said.

Remote let out a low hum.

Bao-Dur laughed. "You four haven't changed at all. I think I'll ditch the gun and just fight like the rest of you."

"Why the change of heart?"

"It'll make things more interesting. I remember you four saying that all the time in the war."

Justin smiled. "Ready, set, FIGHT!!" They ran down the hill. The mercenaries looked, surprised at the yells, and had enough time to notice people charging at them before swords flashed.

They had killed half the mercenaries before they'd realized what had happened. Even then it was too late. While they tried to take out swords and ready blasters, they were getting cut down by swords or hit by droids. Brennen actually grabbed Roger once and used him as a projectile. Beth copied the idea and threw Remote, who beeped angrily.

In only a couple minutes, the fight was over. The mercenaries had been careless, and they'd had the element of surprise. None of them were hurt, although Roger and Remote had a couple dents. Roger seemed content with the fact that he had been thrown, but Remote was angry about it, and beeped furiously at Beth. But then, Roger had been voluntarily throwing himself at the mercenaries, while Remote, who had a gun, had been trying merely to shoot his enemies.

"Calm down," Beth said, pushing the droid away. Kreia and Atton walked up them slowly, trying to avoid stepping in the carnage. "It's not like I've never been thrown."

"On the contrary," Bao-Dur told her. "I remember in the war you were thrown quite often as a surprise attack. You never seemed to be hurt, even when thrown from high distances or extreme speeds, so you would be thrown into enemy camps so you could soften them up before the actual attack. Or once, Jaise grabbed you by the legs and swung you around, hitting all the enemies that surrounded you. You thought it was great."

"I still do," Beth said, laughing.

"You know, I thought they'd see us coming," Brennen said. "Didn't they had that sentry droid?"

"Maybe it went to a different patrol," Bao-Dur suggested. "It's quite possible."

"Damn Brezu, did you have to throw Roger so hard?" Beth was looking at one of the bigger dents in Roger's side.

"Yes Beth. Yes I did."

"Hm, fair enough." Then she noticed a couple swoops one the ground next to the mercenaries. "Oh man, these things are so cool."

"I'm surprised you think so," Bao-Dur said. "Once, Lorenti pushed you off one of those while on your way back to the base. You weren't hurt, but you had to walk through enemy territory to get to the base. It took you two days. We thought you were dead."

"It'll take more then a few-"

"-hundred enemies to kill me, I know, you said that when you got back."

Beth sat on the bike. Justin grew uneasy. "Beth, maybe you shouldn't-" Too late. Beth zipped away on the bike, flipping over and over in the air. They heard her cheering as she went out of sight.

Bao-Dur laughed. "Wouldn't be the first she's done that, and it won't be the last."

"Should we go after her?" Johnny asked.

"Well, that's the way we gotta go anyway. Chances are we'll come across her eventually, either on the ground without the swoop, or on the ground with the swoop in ruins next to her."

"All right then. Hey, where's Roger?"

"She grabbed him before she started that thing up, so no worries. With him around, she'll be fine." He grinned wryly.

"Well, let us MOVE OUT!!" He started off, then stopped. "After you, Bao."

He took the lead, and once again they followed him. They walked most of the day, with no sign of Beth, Roger, the swoop, or any enemies. Well, except for a few Cannoks, with were bulky, big-mouthed creatures with eyes something like a snail. According to Bao-Dur, they ate anything they could get their mouth around, which included them, so they had to kill them before continuing on their way. Luckily, they weren't very tough beasts.

Around sunset, Bao-Dur suggested they stop for the night. Justin was a bit worried about Beth, but Bao-Dur told him to calm down."She's been through much worse then mercenaries and Cannoks. She'll be fine. I always did tell her that doing such reckless things she'll shorten her life extremely, but she says it's the reckless things that make life worth living. And it's the fact that she was willing to do those reckless things that helped us win the war. Guess I can't complain."

"I'm sick of hearing about Beth's exploits," Brennen complained. "What about the rest of us?"

"Can't you remember what you did?"

"Ya," he lied. "But I wanna hear it from someone else. It always sounds funnier that way."

"Well," Bao-Dur said, sitting back. "You, Brezu, were the one everyone considered to be the luckiest son of a bitch in the war. You should've died about a thousand times, but you always managed to get through it with a few scars and a couple stories to tell. Where Beth got by on speed and, well, idiocy, you got by on speed and your ability to suddenly think up an idea that was nowhere near foolproof, but somehow always worked anyway.

"Like this one time you were leading a platoon of twenty soldiers to scout out an unknown area, when about a hundred Mandalorians suddenly appeared out of thin air. You ordered a retreat, and managed to find a hiding place in a cave leading into a mountain a few kilometres away. Only five others made it with you though. It was too dangerous to go back out, unless you wanted to be slaughtered by Mandalorians before you got a mile closer to base. So you explored the cave and found a tunnel that led to the top of the mountain where there was a bunch of loose rocks. You told the others to stand at the front of the cave in clear view, so the Mandalorians would come to try and finish them off. They did it, reluctantly, but did it all the same. When the Mandalorians came, you used the Force to push the rocks and caused a landslide. Your men managed to get into the cave, but most of the Mandalorians were killed.

"The front of the cave was blocked, so the others joined you at the top of the mountain and you climbed off. Only thing was, not all the Mandalorians died. About thirty charged you at the base of the mountain. You took out your lightsaber-"

"Lightsaber?" Brennen interrupted.

"Yes, lightsaber. I heard it was taken from you at the end of the war when you were exiled. That's a shame."

"Um...What colour was it? It's been so long I can't remember."

"It was orange. You were the only Jedi with an orange lightsaber. I guess it was a rare crystal. And it was double-bladed.

"Anyway, you took out your lightsaber and tried to kill them, but there were way too many. They ended up killing the rest of your men, and you were captured. They threw you in some jail, planning to interrogate you later. But you Force persuaded the guard to give back your lightsaber and killed him. You broke your way out of the jail, somehow managed to fight your way to their main computer, downloaded their information about their next battle plan, stole one of their swoop bikes, rode it back to the base, and through all of it you only got shot four times.

"Everyone was surprised to see you. You'd been gone five days longer then you should have been, and we'd all thought you'd died. Except for Jaise, Lorenti and Beth. They said you'd come back, and I guess they were right.

"That was near the beginning of the war. It wasn't long after that you suddenly got the idea of throwing Beth into the enemy camps."

"That was my idea?" Brennen was surprised. Bao-Dur looked at him, puzzled, and he added "I, uh, forgot."

Bao-Dur shrugged. "It was a long time ago. Anyway, you said it wouldn't work if they did it with Jaise or Lorenti. They were too slow, relied more on brute force then anything else. And they didn't want to do it anyway. Beth thought it would be fun, and agreed to do it. You figured it would work because she was quick and agile. And she always had that Force Run ability in case she needed to escape. Plus, she never seemed to get hurt, no matter what she was thrown from. Lorenti once threw her into a door, and she complained a bit, but she was fine."

"Were these tactics, uh, successful?" Justin asked.

"Yep. It seemed she was perfect for the job. She only needed to run once, and that was when we underestimated their numbers. She came back laughing though."

"Nuts," Brennen muttered.

"You said that after every mission. But the four of you were probably the strongest Jedi there. Best leaders we'd ever had. And respected too. You never sent our soldiers to fight a battle you yourselves were not planning on going to."

"What about me? Did I do anything worthy of notice?" Justin asked.

"Of course, though you were usually with Lorenti. When the two of you were together, it was like trying to stop a hurricane. An unstoppable force. I don't know who the Mandalorians feared the most, Beth, Brezu, you or Lorenti. Beth and Brezu killed them before they could move, you were a great warrior, and Lorenti was extremely powerful in the Force. You four were usually separated, but when you all fought in one battle..." He laughed. "You were _all _nuts. The Mandalorians couldn't win against all of you. The first time I saw you fight, you were like demons. Brezu had his orange double-bladed lightsaber, Jaise had his blue lightsaber, Lorenti had his purple dual phase lightsaber, and Beth had her two yellow lightsabers.

"After the battle, I went to talk to you, though I pictured you all as more conceited then you were. Most of the Jedi were. But instead you were laughing about the battle and insulting each other. Not in a bad way though, more of a good-natured way. I could see why your men liked you four so much. You didn't act like you were above such things as happiness and laughter."

"A great warrior." Justin smirked. He liked the sound of that.

"Orange double-bladed," Brennen said quietly. Damn he wished he had one of those now.

"Powerful Force user," Johnny muttered. Like a Jedi Master.

The six of them went to sleep after that. It had been a long day, and they were exhausted. Justin thought briefly of getting someone to stand guard, but fell asleep before the thought went to far.

_The next morning..._

They were up at dawn, wanting to get an early start. Bao-Dur once again led. The exiles tried to keep their mind on the journey, but couldn't stop thinking wistfully of a coffee.

They were walking along a passage between two hills when they found a bloody corpse.

Justin quickly flipped the corpse over, but it wasn't Beth. It was a Twi'Lek.

"Not even close, Jaise," Brennen said. "Didn't the head tails give it away?"

"I remember this from the game," Justin said. "Weren't there supposed to be two droids with this Twi'Lek?"

"Ya, I think there were," Johnny agreed. "But there's no sign of any droids."

"What are you three talking about?" Bao-Dur asked. "What game?"

"Just ignore them," Kreia advised. "They've been talking like that since we met them."

They continued along the trail silently. Suddenly Bao-Dur exclaimed "Hey, was that Roger?"

The others looked up. They saw nothing, but Bao-Dur hurried up the path, and they followed quickly. They ran around a bend in the path and stared.

Beth was sitting there calmly, with Roger floating over her head, the swoop in front of her and with two war droids standing guard on both sides. They lifted their guns when they saw the group, but Beth lifted a hand.

"Hold," she said quietly. "We don't want them to hear us." The war droids lowered their weapons cautiously.

"So that's where the Twi'Leks droids are." Justin sat down next to her.

"Oh her? I took care of her yesterday. I managed to switch off the droids, and then modified their programming to follow my orders. But we have to be quiet."

"Why?" he whispered, suddenly creeped out.

"That sentry droid we saw yesterday? It came here. To this base. Roger scouted it out a bit. Looks like some sort of military base. And he thinks he saw your terminal too," she nodded to Bao-Dur. "But, just as I thought, we will have to fight to it. The mercenaries are prepping for us. There's quite a few, and we won't have the element of surprise this time. Maybe Kreia and Atton can help this time," she added.

"Well, we probably won't have to fight close together this time, so why not?" Atton replied.

"Think we can take them?" Johnny asked.

"Of course. Shouldn't be too difficult. Even if they're expecting us, they're just mercenaries."

"Just remember Beth," Justin warned. "In the game, if you die you just load it up and try again. Here, we only have one chance." Atton, Kreia and Bao-Dur stared at him, but decided not to say anything.

Beth rolled her eyes. "Don't worry, we can beat them. I would've started fighting a while ago, but figured I should wait for you guys." She stood.

Brennen was looking at the swoop. "I have an idea," he said.

_In the mercenary camp..._

The leader of the mercenary camp waited impatiently. Where were those damn Jedi? He'd expected them an hour ago...

He heard the roar of a swoop engine. _Must be the patrols_. He thought. He turned.

It was not his patrols he saw though. A lone swoop swept through the ranks of his men, doing barrel rolls. It was just as the rider leaped off, swinging two swords, that he realized the people the swoop went by fell and did not get up again. The swoop did not stop moving after the rider got off, but flew across the camp and slammed into the wall of one of their buildings.

_This isn't a Jedi. _She didn't even have a lightsaber. But she was extremely fast. Too fast for a normal human. He watched her duck under swords, dodge blows, and still manage to deal out damage. Then she suddenly jumped back, and ran away from the camp, too fast for any but a Jedi, and ran around a bend in the path that led away from the camp, out of sight.

His men groaned, nursing various wounds. Not many had actually been killed, but few were not cut and bleeding in at least three places.

_What was the point in that? _He thought. Why did she run away? _She must have realized she couldn't win._

"Sir!" He looked up at his soldiers cry. It was the female swoop rider. She was standing at the entrance to the camp, in clear view. She merely stood there, arms crossed, grinning slightly, with what looked like a droid head floating next to her.

"Kill her!" The leader yelled. His men obliged with pleasure. But just as they got about half way across the camp, six more people stepped out. The soldiers stopped, unsure.

For a moment, he was worried. But then he snapped to attention. "Kill them!" he bellowed. "Kill them all!"

Beth snorted. Like a group of wounded soldiers could kill five Jedi, two soldiers, and two droids. But they ran at them, yelling, some limping. Beth, like the others, looked at Justin, who nodded.

"GET THE FUCKERS!!" He roared, and they lunged forward immediately, swords swinging.

It was a short, bloody battle. Bao-Dur could see the old fighters in the exiles. Jaise and Lorenti stood back to back, killing any who came near, not bothering to move since the soldiers came to them. Beth and Brezu fought side by side, using their Force powers to pull soldiers toward them or to throw them away. More then once there was the sound of Beth screaming, accompanied with the sight of mercenaries flying back, or sometimes lightning flew over the battlefield, frying anyone in its path. A few times a droid was pitched at someone. The war droids were destroyed quickly.

The battle ended. The exiles, the old Sith/Jedi, the soldier, the Zabrak and the droids were surrounded by the corpses of mercenaries. All were slashed and bleeding, but they didn't seem to notice as they turned to face the leader of the camp. He stood there for a moment, astonished, and then he ran. Brennen extended a hand, using Force Pull, and the man flew back, landing in front of them. He slammed down on his back, and looked up at them, obviously terrified out of his wits.

They looked at each other. "Do we let him live?" Justin asked.

"Let him live," Beth said. They stood aside, and this time they let him run.

For a moment, silence. Then the exiles burst out laughing. Kreia and Atton were surprised, but Bao-Dur grinned. It had been expected.

They began babbling about the battle, each trying to tell their story over the others, each believing their story to be better.

And of course, Kreia had to put a damper on things. "We should not have let him go. He may tell others, and bring them back here."

"Oh shut up Kreia," Beth said. "We not staying here long anyway."

"Let's go find that terminal," Bao-Dur said. In truth, he was disappointed that Kreia had to stop them from talking about the battle. They had always seemed happiest when they were trying to talk over each other.

"Roger saw the terminal yesterday," Beth told them. "He'll show us where it is." She wiped blood off her brow, and just then noticed her injuries, some of them from when she had been weakening the troops, some from the battle itself. She blinked, and swayed.

"Beth," Justin said, alarmed. "Are you all right?"

"Sure," she said thickly, unable to focus her eyes. "Just stand still." She toppled over.

"Oh shit!" The others hurried forwards. Justin extended a hand and used Force Heal. The cuts and gashes sealed shut, leaving nothing but scars. Bao-Dur grinned.

"You have no idea how many times you saved your friends with that."

"I have some idea," Justin said absent-mindedly. He was beginning to get worried. At first, it all seemed like some sort of joke, being sucked into a game spontaneously. But it was starting to scare him. The four of them actually had a history here. Other people remembered them here, remembered their past. And everything Bao-Dur said was true. He'd seen it in the battle. His old skills were still there, the ones from the war. That's how they knew how to use their Force powers. They'd done it before. But that wasn't the scariest part. The scariest part was when he'd healed Beth just now, he'd had a flashback, where he was instead healing some sort of soldier.

_What's happening to me? How can I remember such things? They never _happened. _I'm not from this world. _What if he suddenly started forgetting things from his old world? But then a new thought came to him. What if by being sucked into this world, the other one had stopped existing? What if this world existed now merely because they'd come here? _It used to be a game, a movie, a fantasy. Now it's real. _

"Jaise?" Bao-Dur said.

Justin shook his head. It wasn't possible. But he couldn't stop one last thought: _What if the longer I'm here, the more I become of this world and the less I exist in the other?_

"Jaise!"

Justin snapped to attention. "Sorry, just thinking." Beth had woken up, and was looking a bit embarrassed that she had passed out. "You ok Beth?"

"Yep. Just a few scars now. It's a good thing you know Force Heal." She stood and brushed off her clothes, then turned to Roger, who was hovering near her face, worried. "You gonna show us the terminal or what?"

"Yes master."

They followed the droid into a building. The terminal was sitting right in the corner. Bao-Dur headed for it immediately. And began scanning the planet for the ship.

While they waited, Justin gestured for Beth, Brennen and Johnny to follow him outside. "We'll be back in a second," he told the others. They nodded and didn't look up.

"Roger, stay here and, uh, check on Remote," Beth ordered. Roger looked a bit put out, but did as she said.

"All right, what is it?" Brennen asked.

"Guys, I think something weird's going on," Justin told them

They looked at each other. Justin realized he would have to rephrase his sentence. "Listen, when I healed Beth just now, I had a flashback. A flashback of me healing a soldier."

"What do you mean?" Johnny asked.

Justin sucked in a breath. "Look, at first I thought this was all a big joke. The war stories, the whole "spoil the ending" thing. But I'm starting to think this isn't all a joke. It's real, but more real then I thought. It's not just that we could die here, it's that…" He tried to find a way to explain it. "There is no planet Earth anymore. There's no Mars, or Jupiter. This is the real world now."

"So what youre saying is…" Beth started slowly.

"Yes. Our old lives don't exist anymore. _This _is our old lives. This is our past, present and future lives. There was never anything else. Not anymore. This has been our whole lives. We just don't know it."

Silence for a few moments. Then Beth said "I think you're right. When I came in on the swoop, I had a flash of another battle. Only I was with a bunch of others on swoops. I just ignored it though. Figured it was just my imagination."

"So we can't go home?" Johnny asked.

"I don't know. This is all a theory really. I don't have proof. All I can say is I'm more Jaise Lynion then Justin here."

Again they were quiet for a few moments. Then Brennen said "Awesome!"

"What?"

"Well, what's so bad about living in Star Wars land? Not like we had much going for us. Back home we were four people. Here, we're four war heroes!"

"I agree with that," Beth said.

"Jaise! Brezu! Lorenti! Beth! Come here!" It was Bao-Dur. They went back into the building, feeling different.

"I found something odd," Bao-Dur told them. "There's a spot in the polar regions where a shield's been put up. It's not supposed to be there. And the orbital cameras don't show anything. It looks empty."

"I bet that's where our ship's at," Beth said, walking up to the computer. "And I got a way for us to get there. There's a shuttle in some old underground base that's in this area."

"At least, there was one," Bao-Dur added. "This report was made months ago."

"That gonna stop you?"

"Hell no. I'm getting out of here."

"Then it's agreed," Justin said. They looked at him expectantly. "Men, let's MOVE OUT!!" And with that he led them to the old military base.

_Two hours later…_

"Damn it man, it's like a maze in here!"

Justin stopped to look around. They were all tired of walking. Even Remote and Roger were tired of floating down the same corridor over and over again. But they werent voicing their complaints at least.

"My feet hurt!"

"We've been here for hours!"

"I'm tired!"

"I swear this corridor looks like all the others!"

"This is ridiculous!"

"SHUT UP!!" Justin roared.

They silenced immediately. Only Kreia hadn't said anything.

He pointed down a random hallway. "Maybe it's that way."

"That's the way we came!" Brennen objected. "It's probably that way." He pointed another way.

Justin let out an aggravated sigh. "Don't start that. If you do that, then Beth will say "No it's that way" and Johnny will say "No, that way!" and then we'll split up, and one of us will run into a random enemy, and everyone will hear them scream, and we'll all come running, but just _seconds _too late and then we'll roar in rage and attack the enemy, then we'll just barely win, and then, exhausted, we'll limp over to the dying person, who will tiredly, and with much coughing, say their final words, die peacefully, and then someone will cry, another will swear vengeance, and another will try to ease the passing, then the long quest starts for all of us to meet our needs, and then we'll smile at each other, say "See you later" and then we'll part ways and some stupid music will start playing, and then there's the credits, which no ones watches anyway." He stopped for a breather. Everyone stared at him. "What?"

"Ok, we'll just go that way," Brennen said, pointing the way Justin had.

"Ya, that's right."

_Another hour later…_

"Anyone remember what we were looking for?" Justin asked.

Silence, then-

"Ya. We need those codes so the shuttle will take off, and we need to turn on the power in this place so we can open the bay doors," Bao-Dur answered.

"Oh, is that what we needed?" Beth reached into her pocket. "Me and Roger found the launch codes an hour ago while you and Brezu were arguing."

"And why didn't you SAY ANYTHING!?"

"I didn't know we needed them."

"Bao said we needed them!"

"Ya, but I wasn't listening. I was too busy turning on the power to the base."

Everyone began edging away from Justin, who seemed to be on the verge of exploding.

"One of these days Beth," Justin fumed.

"Can we go now?"

"Oh, we can go. Unless I KILL YOU FIRST!!" He leaped at her. Beth ran down the hallway, and Justin ran after her, yelling about all the horrible deaths she was gonna receive when he caught her. The others(besides Kreia, the downer) laughed, and went after them.

Luckily, by the time they reached the shuttle Justin had calmed down enough to allow Beth to live. Beth and Bao-Dur opened the doors to the hangar, but just as they were going to the shuttle a giant Tank droid clomped out from behind. It turned to look at them, then let loose a barrage of blaster fire.

They jumped to the left, dodging the fire. Johnny pulled a thermal detonator out of his pocket and threw it. The droid stomped right on it and it exploded, destroying it's right leg. It fell, but kept shooting. Brennen used Force Push on Johnny, shoving him out of the way.

Justin ran from behind the droid, and jumped on it's side. "Lorenti, give me your axe!" Johnny threw it. It flipped end over end, and Justin had to drop to the ground to avoid having his arm chopped off.

"Not like that you idiot!" He yelled. He ran to grab the axe as it skidded along the ground.

Beth looked at Brennen. "What do we do?"

"Uh…" He stepped to the right, out into the droid's view. Beth followed, though she wasn't sure why. The droid fired immediately. Brennen leaped to the left. Beth leaped to the right. They slammed into each other, and fell. Luckily, the droid shot too high, and missed them. They crawled out of the droid's view again.

"That was stupid, I admit it," Brennen said.

"I've done stupider."

Justin had retrieved the axe. He slammed it into the droid's side, over and over again, trying to reach it's core.

"It's higher up!" Bao-Dur called. Justin paused for a moment, then moved his attacks higher.

Finally, the droid stopped moving. Justin peered down at it. "Is it dead?"

Beth stepped into it's view. It began firing. Justin beat the droid with his axe while Beth dodged the blaster fire. It stopped so suddenly, Beth kept dodging for a few moments before realizing the droid wasn't shooting anymore.

"Huh."

"Whatever. Let's just get out of here." Justin walked into the shuttle. The others followed him on.

_One hour later…_

They flew over the shielded part of the polar region. Everyone expected a smooth ride. Except the exiles, who had already played the game.

"Why are you bracing yourself as though we were about to get hit by a rocket launcher and smash into the ground?" Bao-Dur asked.

"No reason. Continue to walk about as though we weren't about to get hit by a rocket launcher and smash into the ground," Justin replied.

Suddenly something smacked into the windshield, cracking it slightly. The exiles looked up.

"What was that?" Justin asked.

"A rocket launcher just smashed into the ship!" Atton called back. "It's reduced my visibility slightly!"

"Slightly? NOOOOOOOOOO!!" Brennen yelled.

There was a loud explosion and the ship rocked back and forth. "Ok, and what was that?" Justin asked.

"That was a rocket! We're going down!" Atton shouted.

"A rocket? Meh. Nothing we can't handle," Brennen replied.

"Unless we crash into the ground and die."

"Ya, I suppose that's true."

The shuttle smashed into the ground.

_A few minutes later…_

_Second time today..._Justin stood up slowly. They really had to stop crashing these shuttles.

He looked around. The others stood slowly. Bao-Dur, however, had been knocked unconscious in the crash. Not that you could blame him for that.

_How did we get outside the shuttle?_ He thought. No one was around to drag them out...

"Irritated Declaration: There you are. You have been very elusive, Jedi."

Justin now noticed the three HK units standing in front them. He sighed.

"Look, if we're going to fight, let's just get this over with. I'm tired, they're tired-" he gestured at his companions-"so let's just cut the bullshit ok?"

The HK units lifted their guns. The exiles were the first to act, leaping forward, propelled by the Force. Justin stuck his sword through one's face. Johnny used his axe to cleave off the head of another. Beth and Brennen fought each other for the right to fight the last one.

Johnny shook his head. He threw his axe at the third HK unit, which imbedded itself in the droid's chest plate. He then walked up to Beth and Brennen and calmly smacked their heads together.

"Thank you,""Justin said. He looked at Bao-Dur, who still hadn't come around. "What do we do with the Zabrak?"

Beth and Brennen were still fighting, but they stopped long enough to shrug. Johnny sighed. "How 'bout we carry him? Guys, will you stop fighting? The last droid is dead!" He smacked their heads together again, and they stopped after that.

Justin and Johnny struggled to lift Bao-Dur. "Damn! He's heavier then he looks!" Justin grunted.

"The sad thing, it's not even fat. Look at him! He fucking built!"Johnny looked at Remote, who was floating nearby anxiously. "Tell your friend to calm down on the steroids!"

"Beth! Brennen! Do something useful and go find Atris' underground academy thing!" Justin ordered. The two ran off, searching for any sign of a door.

Beth ended up finding it. In fact, she tripped over it. She tripped on what she thought was a snow mound, kicked it, and everyone around heard her swear at it. Then she called out "I found the thingy!"

They gathered around it. Justin and Johnny dropped Bao-Dur in the snow and inspected the door imbedded in the snow. "So..." He stared at it. "How do we get in?"

"Throw Beth at it," Johnny suggested.

"Wait, throw who at it?" Justin grabbed Beth and pitched her at the door. She slammed into it and fell on the ground. Justin, Brennen and Johnny laughed. Roger flew forward to check on his master.

"Damn,"she muttered, picking herself up.

"Sorry," Justin said, trying to keep a straight face.

"Holy crap, look at the dent she left in the door!" Brennen pointed. This time, all of them laughed, except Kreia and , of course, Bao-Dur.

The door opened while they were still laughing. They didn't notice the woman standing in the doorway. Beth and Johnny were laughing so hard they'd fallen to the ground. Justin and Brennen were supporting each other, barely able to breathe. Atton was leaning against the side of the snow mound. And the droids? Well, you don't know funny until you hear a droid laugh. A droid that beeps.

"What are you doing here?" They looked at the doorway. Laughter was cut short. Two woman stood there, wearing white, with white hair and bright blue eyes. To tell the truth, they looked like ghosts.

"Put down you weapons, and you will not be harmed."

For a moment, they were all still. Then Beth, the comedian she is, poked Bao-Dur.

"Ya, you heard the woman. Put down your weapons you unconscious freak!"

They all started laughing again. They weren't laughing when they were hit over the head with staffs though. Mostly because it knocked them out.

_In Atris' underground academy..._

"Damn, my head hurts," Justin groaned.

"It would. My handmaiden's had to deal with you the hard way."

He leaped up. Another one of those ghostly white woman was standing in front of him. Only this one was older, and was wearing Jedi robes.

"Atris," he said. Movement caught his eye. He glanced to the side and saw the three other exiles standing up. Their three companions were gone, probably in holding cells for the time being. He focused on Atris again.

"So why are you four here?" she asked coldly. "I doubt it's to answer for your crimes in the Mandalorian Wars."

"If we hadn't gone to the war, more innocent people would have died."

"We needed to stay back, to meditate on the problem. What made you think-"

"We'd all be speaking Mandalorian right now if there weren't Jedi brave enough to go to war!" Beth interrupted.

This was basically the way the conversation went for the next five minutes. Atris stood up for the Jedi Council's decision, and the exiles stood up for their own. Finally Atris snapped.

"I should have know it would be foolhardy to try and convince you of your wrongdoing!" she hissed. "You are, were, and ever will be violent and thoughtless individuals! And you successfully distracted me from my questions! Now tell me what you are doing here!"

"We just want our ship!" Justin said.

"Ah…The Ebon Hawk. It is not your ship. Not unless you admit to the destruction of Peragus 2 being your doing."

"That was the Sith, not me. Now are you going to give me my ship or not?"

"The Sith? What are you talking about?"

_Great. I opened up a new conversation piece. _"A Sith Lord tried to kill me on Peragus 2. His name was Sion. Now can I go?"

However, Atris wasn't listening. "Hmm…But why would the Sith be after you?"

"I don't know, maybe he thinks we're last of the Jedi. Now can we leave?"

"You are not the last of the Jedi. I am. I am sure he realized that and will bother you no more."

"You're the last of the Jedi?"

"Well, no, but…" Then she looked at him suspiciously. "Wait, why am I telling you this?"

"Look Atris, we have to work together against the Sith. You don't like me, and I sure as Hell don't like you, but these are times when we put aside such things and unite."

Beth snorted. Evidently she didn't think much of Justin's speech.

Atris hesitated a moment, then nodded. "All right. You want to help? Go find the other Jedi. We'll talk after that."

"All right then. So can we go now?"

"Yes. Now get out of my sight."

The four left happily. They had started to look for their friends when Roger spoke up.

"Master, remember when you said you wanted Jedi robes?"

"Vaguely."

"Will those do?"

They followed his gaze to where four robes were folded neatly on top of some containers.

"It's like a sign from God," Beth said.

"Should we really take them?" Johnny asked. "It looks like they're baiting us."

"Let's take the bait!" Brennen said. He grabbed one of the robes and put it on. "See? Nothing happened."

Beth grabbed one and in a flash had it on. "Sweet. I look so Jedi now."

Justin shrugged, and took one too. Johnny hesistated only a moment before taking the last one.

They weren't anything flashy. Just normal Jedi robes. Still, the four were overly excited about them. They were acting like idiots and showing off their Jedi skills when one of the handmaidens, the ghost women, walked up to them.

"Hello," she said.

Justin spun. "Oh, uh, hey?" He felt ridiculous.

"May I speak with you?" she asked.

"Sure, but first, what's your name?"

"My name is Brianna."

"Ok. So what's your question?"

"What does the Force feel like?"

"Cool," Brennen answered.

"Awesome," Johnny said.

"Wicked," Beth said.

"Ignore them," Justin advised. He remembered one of the conversation pieces from the game. "I can only explain it's loss."

"Then tell me what the loss feels like."

"Crap," Brennen answered.

"Like Hell," Johnny said.

"Wicked, only not the cool wicked," Beth said.

"Like waking up one morning to find all your senses gone," Justin said.

"I see," Brianna said. "Thank you for speaking to me about it."

"No problem. Now we gotta go. See you later." The four walked off.

"Weird chick," Beth muttered.

"You're weird."

"So?"

The four finally found their friends, in Holding Cells, just as Justin had expected. Bao-Dur shifted slightly, and seemed to be waking. Kreia looked at them.

"Did you find what you came for?" she asked.

"We came here for something? Oh ya, the ship. Ya, it's just in the next room."

"No, there was something…Never mind. Let's just get out of here."

Beth walked over to a terminal on the wall and turned off the shields around the cells. Bao-Dur finally stood, though he looked like crap.

"Sorry Jaise. I guess I passed out in the crash."

"Passed out? You were in a coma!" Bath said, laughing.

Justin rolled his eyes. "Don't worry about it, Bao. Let's just get to the ship." He led them through the next door, where they found T3.

"T!" Beth called. "'Bout time we found you!"

He began beeping and dwooping like crazy. Beth frowned. "Brennen?"

"He saying something about Atris' archives. He downloaded something."

"Look, we'll discuss it later," Justin said impatiently. "I wanna be off this planet before anymore crazy things happen."

They walked into the Hangar Bay, where they found the Ebon Hawk sitting there waiting for them. They ran up the exit ramp. Atton, Beth and Roger went straight to the cockpit. Justin flopped down into a seat, exhausted.

"Get us out of here Beth!" he called. The ship lifted off the ground.

A voice crackled over the comm system. "This is your captain speaking." Beth. "Please prepare for a takeoff that may be rougher then our two previous landings. I'm not saying it going to happen, but if it does, I don't people whining about serious head trauma." Justin heard Atton telling her to shut up, and then the ship flew out into space.

It had been a long couple of days, but it wasn't going to get any better on the road ahead.

End Of Chapter 3


	4. Chapter 4

Knights Of The Old Republic Chapter 4– New Friends, New Plot Lines

It wasn't long before there was more trouble to deal with.

The crew stood in the main hold, looking at T3, who was beeping frantically.

"He says he downloaded something from Atris's computer," Brennen translated. "The trial where the four of us were exiled."

"Well, what are you waiting for? Play it!" Beth exclaimed.

_Many years before..._

Justin, Beth, Brennen and Johnny walked towards the council chamber slowly. They were a bit nervous, but each firmly believed what they had done was right.

They entered the chamber and stood before the council. It was severely diminished. Only five remained now: Vrook, Vash, Zez Kei Al, Atris, and Kavar. Vash and Atris were the only females, the others were male.

"Do you know why you have been summoned?" Vrook asked coolly.

"Because we saved many innocent lives while you were content to sit there and watch," Justin answered.

Vrook shook his head slowly. "You are, as you always were, headstrong and foolish. You do not think of the consequences before acting. What if we'd all done the same?"

"If it weren't for us we'd have lost to the Mandalorians," Beth persisted. "It would have been too late to act then."

Vrook ignored this. "Because of your actions, you are no longer Jedi."

"What?" Brennen said.

"You are now banished. Relinquish your lightsabers."

The four looked at their lightsabers. Beth threw hers on the ground and left without another word. The others followed her example, but Justin paused before going through the door. He turned his head to look at the council once more. He flipped them off, then left.

There was silence for a few moments after they left. Then Kavar spoke.

"Much defiance in those four."

"We should not have let them leave," Atris said coldly. "They have fallen. All they will do is spread their taint wherever they go."

"No..." Zez said softly. "It was not the dark side we felt here..."

They were quiet for a few more seconds.

"They will never know why we banished them then," Vash said. "One day, we may call them back, and tell them the truth."

_Back to the future..._

"Jedi sure like their secrets, huh?" Atton commented.

"We never knew about that last bit," Justin said.

"Speak for yourself, I knew," Beth said.

"Oh shut up."

T3 bleeped again. They turned to Brennen.

"He says he has a list of the missing Jedi."

Justin sighed. "Well, show us then."

T3 showed them the holograms of all the missing Jedi, and bleeped where they had last been: Vrook on Dantooine, Vash on Korriban, Zez Kei Al on Nar Shadaa, Atris on Telos, and Kavar on Onderon.

"Hey! Those were all the Jedi who were at our trial!" Johnny said, feigning surprise.

"A strange coincidence," Bao-Dur said.

Kreia opened her mouth to say something, but Beth leaped in. She pulled her hood up over her eyes and held her hands together in front of her, trying to look like Kreia. "It is no coincidence," she said quietly, sounding like an older version of herself. "The Force is-"

"Oh shush," Kreia snapped. "You do not have to mock me."

"I do so, and you know it."

There was the sound of footsteps behind them. Everyone spun, whipping out their weapons. Brianna, the handmaiden, held up her hands in surrender.

"Hey!" Beth called. "What the Hell are you doing on my ship?"

Justin stepped forward. "First off Beth, it's not your ship. Second, since you were always a female character in the game, you wouldn't be familiar with Brianna. She's supposed to sneak onto our ship, apparently on orders from Atris, but only if you're a male character."

Brianna stared at him. "How did you know that?"

"Uh...I didn't?"

"I don't know," Beth said uneasily. "I don't like the way she's looking at me. I think she's hiding something."

"Beth, she wasn't even looking at you."

Beth, however, wasn't the only one who didn't want Brianna to come. Atton looked at the handmaiden nastily. "All right, but if she comes, she's staying in the cargo hold, so she knows what it's like to be thrown in a crap hole."

"That crap hole happens to be our room," Brennen said.

"All right," Brianna said. "I will stay in the cargo hold. I did not expect luxury." She walked off to her new room.

The others stood there for a moment. Then Johnny turned to the rest of them.

"So what planet do we go to first?" he asked.

"I say Dantooine," Beth answered. "It's the easiest one."

"Also the most boring," Justin added. "Although I suppose that's just another reason to get it over and done with."

"Ok then," Atton said. "Come on Beth, let's get this giant garbage truck to Dantooine." Atton, Beth and Roger went to the cockpit.

Justin looked at the others. "I suggest we get some rest. It's been a rough day."

_Night..._

"Yes! Finally!" Atton jumped. He'd been leaning back in his chair, half asleep. He, like the others, was exhausted, and was trying to get as much sleep as he could before it was turn to watch the ship's course.

He looked at Beth blearily. "What?"

She showed him Roger, who looked like he had the muzzle of a gun sticking out of his face. "I finally managed to install a laser on him! Now he can do more then be a projectile!"

"I thought he was doing fine at being a projectile."

"Go to Hell Atton," Roger said.

Beth and Atton stared at the droid, then started laughing.

"He's around you way too much," Atton said.

_The next morning..._

"Hello everyone! This is your captain, Beth, speaking once again, to bring you today's news!"

Justin jumped. He rubbed his eyes, growling. How early was it?

"We will be reaching Dantooine at approximately twelve thirty today, unless delayed by weather, which they don't get much of in space. We also have a one hundred percent chance of boring endless blackness until we reach Dantooine. Dantooine itself is an even more boring planet with nothing but fields and plains as far as the eye can see! And now, I will leave you to your sleep. This is Beth, signing off!"

Justin rolled his eyes, and went to sleep again.

_Twelve o'clock p.m..._

Justin sat in the main hold, holding what was apparently the Star Wars equivalent of coffee. Goddamn, he was tired.

Brennen suddenly ran in. He looked extremely excited.

"Hey buddy. What's up?"

"Dude." Brennen leaned forward. "Brianna, the handmaiden, she's totally into me."

"Excuse me?"

"She's so got the hots for me!"

"What makes you think that?"

"Aw, you can tell by the way she looks at me."

Brianna chose that moment to walk by them. Justin glanced at her. She looked at the two of them as she went by, but Justin didn't see any difference between how she looked at him and how she looked at Brennen.

"See? You see that?" he asked excitedly.

"Man, I think you're dreaming."

"Am not!"

"What are you two talking about?" They looked up and saw Kreia standing a few feet away.

"None of your damn business Hag," Brennen snapped.

Kreia turned her cold gaze on him. "Do not speak to me like that, young Jedi."

"Kiss my ass Kreia."

Justin stared at Brennen. So far he'd only heard Beth bait Kreia, but then she was always the one to cheat death in such things. Kreia gazed at Brennen. He tried to stare her down, but looked away.

"Watch your emotions young man. And your feelings," she added as she walked away.

"Hey! What did she mean by that?"

"Chill out," Justin said. "As much as Beth would hate me to admit it, she's right. You'd better watch it."

_Dantooine..._

"So this is Dantooine huh?"

The exiles looked around. It was definitely one of the most boring places in the galaxy. They had seen the planet in the game, but it was even lamer in person.

The most interesting thing here was the giant building in front of them. What was it called? Khoonda? Whatever. They ran towards it.

They immediately looked for the leader of the place, who was surprisingly easy to find. She was in a room about two metres from the front entrance. She didn't seem surprised that four mysterious people and a floating HK head had broken into her office, but she was suspicious when they told her why they were there.

"So..." She eyed them. "You want to find Master Vrook? Well, I suppose I can help you. I last heard he was in the sub-levels of the old Jedi Enclave."

"Thank you," Justin said, bowing. They turned to leave, but she had one more piece of information for them.

"Watch out for Laigreks."

They stopped. One by one they turned slowly to face her.

"What?"

"The Laigreks. Dark, red-eyed bug creatures. They gather and swarm under in the sub-levels. They are very dangerous."

"Right," Beth said. "I forgot about them."

"Thanks for the warning," Justin told the leader. "Now we have to go. Come on." The four walked out.

There were a few problems on the way to the Enclave. One was the animals that inhabited the planet. The Kinrath weren't much, light green, blind bug creatures that were no match for them. There were also Kath Hounds, animals that looked like a cross between a dog and a bull. However, that wasn't their biggest problem.

They couldn't find the way to the Enclave.

"Goddammit, we should've asked for directions!" Justin snapped at one point. It took them two hours to find the Enclave. By this time, they were exhausted. However, they were determined to get the sub-levels over with, so they began searching for the door.

There were only two doors, and one was caved in, so it was obvious which one they to go through. It didn't look promising though. You know it isn't good when your path grows darker and darker until you can't even see the end.

"Tally-ho," Justin said grimly, and they entered the sub-levels.

_One hour later..._

"Ok, why is it that everywhere we go, we get lost?"

It was even harder to find their way around underground because it was so dark. And there were way too many doors. Way too many doors leading to way too many places. And the fact that they hadn't found any Laigreks yet was a bit strange.

They broke into another room. It was probably the fifth room they'd found that looked as though it was once a dorm room of some sort. But this was going to be their favourite one.

There was crate in the corner of the room, and Beth immediately set to prying it open. Justin looked around the room. Truthfully, it was as dark and gloomy as the rest.

"Hey Justin! Look at this junk!" Justin turned to see Beth and Johnny rummaging through the crate.

He glanced in. To him, it was just a bunch of parts. Beth took out a piece of paper that had been stuck to the side of the crate.

"Check this out!" Beth read off the title. "How To Make Lightsabers: Standard, Dual-Phase, and Double-Bladed." She looked the others. "What are the chances of that eh?"

"Did you say Dual-Phase?" Johnny whipped the paper out of her hand. "Oh my God. So cool. We gotta make these!"

Justin rolled his eyes, but grinned. "Look, even with the parts, it's a moot point. We need those crystal things."

"Got it covered." They turned to Brennen, who was looking under the beds in the room. "I got a blue one, a purple one, an orange one, and two yellows under here. Our luck continues on."

"Ok, this is pretty weird, but Hell, I want to get me a lightsaber!" Justin stuck his hand in the crate and took out a handful of parts. "Let's get this party started!"

_Half an hour later..._

"This is one of the coolest things that has ever happened to me."

These were Justin's words as he held his single blue lightsaber before him. Johnny had made a purple dual-phase, and was showing Brennen, who had an orange double-bladed, how it could double in length. Beth held two standard yellow lightsabers, and was trying them out on the wall.

"Like a sword through a heart."

"Doesn't the saying go 'Like a knife through hot butter?'" Johnny asked.

"Probably. Mine's better."

"Hey guys, check it out!" They turned to Brennen, who had found four robes under the crate. He put on a black one, usually worn by dark Jedi. "Isn't this thing just so wicked?"

"Hey, give me one of those!" Justin grabbed another. It was some sort of roan colour. He laughed. "Looks like the Norris robe from the game!"

Johnny took the next one. It was some sort of dark grey. "Cool. I don't know what this one was called, but it still rocks."

Beth grabbed the last one, which was some sort of blackish-green. "Looks like a Matukai robe. Whatever. The fact is it's better then the standard Jedi robe."

They continued exploring after that, but the mood was changed substantially. All four wanted to test out their lightsabers, which meant not a single thing went uncut. Rocks. Walls. Pillars. Doors. Each other.

It was when Beth was running from the others that they found the man. She turned once to deflect a lightsaber, then ran full tilt down the hallway. She saw a door ahead, but, expecting it to open automatically, did not stop. She slammed into it, and fell back. The others tripped over her and slammed into the door too.

The result was what looked like a Jedi dog-pile. They pushed away from each other immediately. For a few seconds they all stood there, silent, a few feet from the others. Then Beth spun to kick the door. However, the door opened right when she went to kick it, and she nearly flipped over. The others laughed, but then they caught sight of the person who had opened the door.

It was young blonde haired man. He was probably only in his early twenties.

For a few moments the exiles merely stared at him, and the man stared at the four of them. Then Justin turned to Beth.

"Beth! This must be that guy you get when you're a female character! Talk to him!" He pushed her towards the man.

For a second they looked at each other. Then Beth said "Uh... We come in peace?"

Justin grabbed her by the shoulders and spun her around. "No Beth! He's not an alien! Talk to him like he's normal person!" He turned her back.

"Uh, hi?"

"Hello," he said pleasantly.

"You have any drugs?" Justin smacked her in the back of the head. "I mean, what are you doing here?"

"I'm a historian. I'm looking for traces of the Jedi."

"But all the Jedi here are dead. Are you a necrophiliac?" Justin smacked the back of her head. "What? They are dead!"

The man spoke up. "I was looking more for history from their libraries."

"But the files are corrupted."

"Then I guess I came here for nothing."

"Hey, what's your name anyway?"

"Geez Beth, why don't you ask him for his phone number while you're at it," Brennen whispered.

"Fuck you Brezu."

The man looked confused. "Uh, my name is Mical."

"Mical is a guy name?" Justin hit her again. "I mean, uh, cool?" She shifted away from Justin, tired of getting hit. "Anyway, we have to go, so-"

"Wait." He held up a hand. "Before you go, may I ask you something?"

"No." Justin lifted his hand. "Yes."

"Why are you here?"

"That is a good question, one that man has asked for many centuries. Why _are_ we here? What happens when we die? Could God heat a burrito so hot He himself could not eat it?"

"Uh, I meant why are you guys down here."

"Oh. Well, that's a much easier question to answer. We are looking for a Jedi master."

"Really? Then, in a way, our paths are intertwined. Can I come with you?"

"I don't know..."

"Yes," Justin said. "You can come."

"Well, if Jaise says you can come, then you can! Let's go Necro Boy!"

"I'm not a necrophiliac," Mical said.

"Heh, ya, my ass."

"Ok guys let's go,"Justin interrupted. They turned.

There were about fifty Laigreks standing right there.

"Well, that would explain where all the Laigreks went," Brennen said.

"What, behind us?" Johnny said.

One of the Laigreks leaped for Justin's throat. Justin raised his lightsaber and slashed through the creature's neck.

"Mical, stay back," Justin said. "The four of us will take care of these things."

The rest of the Laigreks ran at them. They ignited their lightsabers. "KILL THE SHITS!!" Justin roared.

The lightsabers sliced through the Laigreks easily. Even with so many of the beasts, the battle was over in only a few minutes. The Laigreks were no match for four Jedi.

"Damn," Justin said, looking at a bite mark on his arm. "Vicious bastards."

"Ya, but no trouble for us," Brennen said, poking one of the dead bugs with his lightsaber.

"Thank you, Mr. Obvious." Beth shook her head. "We're four Jedi war heroes who've fought much harder battles, plus we all have our lightsabers. There's no way a Laigrek would be able to kill us. No Goddamn way." Right at that moment a Laigrek leaped at her from behind and clamped it's jaws around her neck.

"Aw, shit!" She reached back and grabbed it's mouth, trying to pry it's jaws apart. "Anyone care to kill this thing?"

Johnny slashed through it's neck. However, though it's body fell to the ground, the head didn't let go. It didn't tighten it's grip anymore, but it sure as Hell didn't loosen up either. She struggled with it, trying to open it's mouth.

"Damn it," she grunted. "I knew I shouldn't have said anything."

"Stay still," Johnny said. "I'm gonna try and cut off it's bottom jaw."

"All right, but if you go and slice off my head I'm going to kill you."

Roger floated over. "But master, if your head was cut off, you wouldn't be able to kill Lorenti! You would be dead."

"Oh shush Roger."

Johnny cut off the jaw, and the head fell away. Beth rubbed the back of her neck. "That was pretty painful."

"How bad is it?" Justin asked.

"Not very. It was only a Laigrek."

"Ya, but it was eating your neck."

"Not really."

"Guys?" Brennen cut in. "Maybe we should get out of here."

"Did you find what you were looking for?" Mical asked.

"Uh, ya. Vrook's in the Kinrath caves," Beth said.

"How do you know?"

"We found a data pad that says it."

"Where?"

"Fuck man, will you get off my case? I just know ok!"

He held up his hands. "Sorry."

Justin shook his head. "Come on. Mical, do you know the way out?"

Mical looked a bit awkward. "Uh, no. I've been wandering around for three hours trying to find my way out."

"Oh great." Justin sighed. "I see a long walk ahead of us."

_Four hours later..._

"Mical, your advice hasn't helped. We've been in here twice as long as before!"

"Well I'm sorry!"

Beth, Brennen and Johnny sat down, watching Justin and Mical argue. They were exhausted, and tired of the sub-levels. It had been three hours since they'd seen a Laigrek, and that was a bad sign. Simply because it meant they were going in circles.

The argument between Justin and Mical was starting to get violent. Beth got up and separated the two. "Guys, kicking the shit out of each other won't solve anything. Except my bloodlust. So please carry on." She stepped back, and Justin and Mical lifted their fists.

Johnny rolled his eyes, and grabbed the two by the back of their shirts. He pulled them apart. "Guys, quit it."

"Hey!" Beth called. "No! Down! Bad Lorenti! What about my bloodlust?"

"Fuck your bloodlust Beth! We need to work together if we want to defeat the Sith, and we're being torn apart by such trivial things! Don't you see this is just what the Sith want? We need to learn to work with one another! Now who's with me?"

The other four were silent, looking at each other. Then Brennen snorted. "Geez Lorenti, you should work for the YMCA. That was one of the gayest things I've ever heard."

"Piss off." He turned to Justin and Mical. "Now look ashamed of yourselves!" They bowed their heads. "Lower!" They went lower. "Good."

"Can we go now?" Brennen asked, yawning.

"Ya, let's go," Justin said. "All right soldiers, let's MOVE OUT!" He led them down another hallway.

"Does he always do this?" Mical asked Beth.

"Yep." She grinned. "Don't ya love it?"

_One hour later..._

"Finally!

The five of them burst out of the sub-levels and into open air. After nearly seven hours, and nine for Mical, there was nothing better then being out in the open. It was the middle of the night, but even the light coming from the moon was better then the seemingly endless darkness of the sub-levels.

They were tired as Hell, so they went to sleep right there. Once again, Justin thought of setting up a watch, but fell asleep.

_The next morning..._

"At least finding our way back to Khoonda was easy."

"Wait a sec, weren't we supposed to go to the Kinrath caves?"

"Oh ya. All right men, turn around!" They went back into the wilderness.

_One hour later..._

"Are those the Kinrath caves?"

"Well, it says so on the sign."

"Good." The five walked into the cave. They were a bit reluctant after the Enclave, but these caves were lit by some strange light.

There were a lot of Kinrath in the caves, but Kinrath were weak, and against lightsabers they were like moths in a hurricane.

The only problem was the number of tunnels. Which meant they got lost a number of times. However, Johnny had the idea of using Kinrath body parts to mark their trail, and after that it was much easier to get around. It was after about an hour of exploring the cave that they found Vrook.

They turned a corner and found themselves faced with a group of mercenaries. A small group, only five, but all had blaster rifles aimed at them.

"Ya, thought I heard something," one of them said. "You five walk around making enough noise to wake the dead. I hope you weren't planning on a sneak attack."

"Well, I wouldn't complain, but I suppose that's not gonna happen," Justin said.

The mercenaries began shooting. The exiles ignited their lightsabers and deflected the shots. Only problem was, there were five mercs and only four Jedi. Inevitably, Mical got shot and toppled over.

"Ah, shit!" Beth growled. "Jaise! The Necro's been hit!"

"He's your responsibility Beth!" Justin called, blocking another shot.

Beth cursed and stepped in front of Mical. "Geez, since when was a living creature my responsibility?"

There was a few seconds where it looked like they weren't gonna get anywhere fast. But then Brennen began spinning his lightsaber like a fan in front of him, deflecting all shots. He began walking forward.

The mercs noticed and, panicky, focussed all their fire on Brennen. Justin and Johnny leaped forward, slashing. The mercenaries were dead in moments.

Vrook was stuck in a holding cell in the corner. Justin quickly turned off the shield around the cell, but Vrook was not at all happy to see them.

"Once again, you run in without thinking," he snapped. "What, you were expecting thanks?"

"Truthfully, yes," Beth said as she checked to see if Mical was ok.

"Don't you understand anything? The mercenaries were going to attack Khoonda once they took me away. Now they're just going to attack right away!"

"So? We can take 'em!" Brennen said. Vrook let out a angry growl.

"What if they destroy Khoonda you idiot?! All attempts at living on this planet again will be for nothing! The mercenaries will take it over!"

"Sounds like a big job for money whores like mercenaries."

"Well, obviously someone's behind it." Vrook shook his head. "Damn it, I'm going on ahead to warn Khoonda. If you want to do something useful, then you should come too!" He ran off.

"I never liked him," Beth said, standing.

"How's Mical?" Justin asked.

"Fine. Although he could use your healing." Justin walked forward and extended his hands, using Force Heal.

"Ow..." Mical groaned.

"Aw, quit being a pussie and get up," Beth said. He stood slowly.

"So now we head for Khoonda eh?" Johnny said.

"Yep." He looked around the cave. "You know, this place is so much gloomier in person. In the game, it was just another cave. And it wasn't so damned dark!"

"And all you had to do was press start for a map," Beth added. "No getting lost."

"And it seemed so much smaller in the game, didn't it?" Brennen remarked.

Mical stared at them. "Game? Press start? What are you talking about?"

"Nothing," the three said at the same time.

"Come on," Justin said. "Let's get out of here." He grinned. "MOVE OUT!!"

_One hour later..._

"Ok, and we're sure we go to Khoonda this time, right?"

"Yep."

"Ok. Good." Justin walked through the door. They went straight to the office of the leader.

She looked up as they entered. "Oh. It's you again." She glanced at Mical. "Who's this?"

Mical opened his mouth to introduce himself, but Beth leaped in. "This is Necro-Boy. We found him inspecting the corpses of dead Jedi."

Mical smacked her in the back of the head. "I was not!" He turned back to the leader. "I'm Mical. I have no idea why I decided to join these idiots."

"Oh, you love us and you know it!" Brennen said.

The leader shook her head. "Well, whatever, it doesn't matter. We need more fighters anyway. The-"

"-mercenaries are coming and they will overrun Khoonda, so we have to kill them, ya we know."

Vrook stepped forward. They jumped. They hadn't seen him standing there. "You think you can take all those mercenaries?" he asked coldly. Evidently, he didn't think they could.

Which meant they had to show off. "Oh ya," they said. Vrook shook his head slowly.

One of the city militia ran in. "Master Vrook," he said breathlessly. "The mercenaries are coming!"

Vrook turned to them. "Well? You said you could take the mercenaries on single-handedly. Get to it!"

Mical looked uneasy, but Beth patted him on the back reassuringly. "Don't worry man! Chances are we'll die a horrible bloody death."

"I thought you said not to worry!"

"Oh, did I say that? Oh sorry. I meant be scared as Hell."

"Thanks Beth. You really know how to calm a soul."

The five of them walked out. They could see the mercenaries massing a mile or so away. They glanced at each other nervously.

"That's more then in the game," Brennen said quietly.

"No, it's the same amount, it just looks like more," Johnny whispered.

"Why are we whispering?"

"No clue. I don't think they can hear us unless we yell."

"Unless we yell eh?" Beth said. She turned to the mercs. "Hey assholes! Come get some lightsaber bitches!" She continued to yell and rant.

Justin shook his head. He turned to Mical. "You got a weapon?"

"Uh, no. I lost my sword in the Enclave."

"Beth?" Justin said. He poked her. "Mical's your responsibility. Get him a weapon."

"Aw, come on!" She turned to him. "Can't he just use a sharp rock or something?"

"No. Get him a weapon."

"Goddammit. Come on Necro." She walked back into th Khoonda building. Mical let out a big breath at the name, but followed.

"Hey Vrook, can I borrow your lightsaber?" Beth asked a few moments later. Vrook looked at her incredulously.

"What if the mercenaries get past you? What am I supposed to fight with?"

"Don't worry, they won't. Now give me your saber!"

He looked at his lightsaber, then handed it over reluctantly. She turned to Mical and gave him the weapon. "There. You now have a weapon."

"But – But that's a Jedi weapon!" He took it uncertainly. "I don't even know how to use it!"

"Ya you do. I know you were supposed to be a Jedi, but there was no one to train you, so you were forced to leave and forget the Force. And now you work for the Republic. I know, believe me."

He frowned. "But how–" He shook his head. "Well, if you know all that, then did you know that I wanted you to be my Master, back when you were still at the Jedi academy?"

"Ya, I know that too." Beth paused for a moment. "You know, I could probably teach you to feel the Force again."

"Really? How?"

"Here. Come here." He stepped closer. She closed her eyes for a moment, then smacked him across the face.

"OW!" He reeled back. "Dammit! What was that for?"

"For smacking me in the back of the head a while ago. Also to see if you could feel the Force again once I did it. Can you?"

"Don't be ridic–" He stopped. "Hey, I can!"

"All right. Beth therapy."

"I didn't know that would work! Where'd you get the idea?"

"My fist."

He blinked, confused. Beth shook her head, grinning. "Well, now you're a Jedi. Which means you can use the lightsaber. And you're also, technically, my apprentice. Which means you're going to follow me around much like Roger here." She pointed at the droid, who was floating silently over her shoulder.

"What, did I sign a contract here?"

"Well, feel free to leave."

"Nah, I'll stick around."

"Hey Beth! Mical!" They turned to the door. Justin was leaning through the entrance. "Brennen took up your post of yelling at the mercs and now they're coming for us. Did you find a weapon for Mical?"

"Oh ya." She pointed at the lightsaber in his hand, and grinned.

"Well, then let's go. We got mercenaries to kill." The three Jedi and one droid walked out.

They immediately saw the mercenaries marching towards them slowly. Brennen was still yelling, and Beth joined him. "Hey dickweeds! You wanna go? We can take you shitbags!"

"Are those two always like this?" Mical asked Justin.

"Yep. Don't ya love it?"

"Uh oh." Beth and Brennen were backing up.

"What's wrong?"

"Well, you know how they were walking towards us? Now they're running."

"Aw, piss."

They watched the mercs running towards them. Then Johnny stepped forward. He raised both arms and lightning flew from his hands.

The front line of mercs were fried. They screamed, then fell to the ground, smoking slightly. The others hesitated a moment, then kept running forward.

"My turn!" Brennen stepped forward. He threw his hands forward like he was shoving something. Another line of the mercs flew back and slammed into the men behind them. Many were impaled on each other's swords, and did not stand again.

About half the army was dead now. The remaining soldiers looked scared, but once again, they came towards them, but at a slower pace.

Brennen stepped back, and Beth took his place. "Let's see what they think of this!" She sucked in a huge breath, then screamed so loud it nearly threw her friends back, and it wasn't even directed at them. Yet another line was pitched right over the heads of their comrades, and slammed hard on the ground behind them.

The mercs came at them even slower, at a walking pace now. Breathless, Beth backed off. Justin stepped forward. "Hey guys, how many of them do you think I can choke at once?"

"Half," Brennen said tiredly.

"Ok. Let's try that." He flung both hands forward, twisting them into a vice. As they'd guessed, half of the men stopped marching and dropped their weapons to clutch at their throats. Justin's face took an expression of concentration as he struggled to hold it.

Finally, the men fell, dead. There were very few left now, only fifteen. However, the four of them had exhausted themselves. Beth looked at Mical.

"Got any Force powers you wanna throw out there?" she asked wearily.

"I only remembered how to use the Force five minutes ago," he protested. "What am I supposed to do?"

"I don't know. Use your imagination."

He turned to the mercenaries, raised his hands, and--

WE INTERRUPT YOUR READING TO BRING YOU THIS STARTLING NEWS!!

The author of this story, Beth The Third, likes pie. And now, back to your original programming!

"Man, that was ingenious, Mical!" Beth stared at the dead mercenaries.

"Ya, where'd you think of something as great as that?" Justin asked.

"I don't know," Mical answered, smirking. "I just lifted my hands, and it came out."

"Goddamn," Brennen said. "I still can't believe you managed that. Anyone who missed that should shoot themselves, because their lives no longer hold any meaning."

"I second that," Johnny agreed.

They walked back into Khoonda. Vrook stared at them.

"That was amazing!" he said to Mical. "How did you do that?"

"The Force can do amazing things," Mical told him.

Vrook shook his head, then turned to the exiles. "Well, you found me. So why are you here?"

"The Sith attacked us. We think they're coming out of hiding. Atris wants all the Jedi masters to meet together, and see what we can do about the problem."

Vrook thought for a moment. "All right. Find the other masters, and tell them to meet here, on Dantooine. We'll see what we can do."

"Thanks." They turned to leave, but then Justin turned back. "Wait...Why did you exile us?"

"Because you defied the Council's orders and ran off to war!" he said angrily.

"Ya, whatever." The five of them left. The exiles knew, of course, that wasn't the reason, but didn't push it.

They walked onto The Ebon Hawk, but immediately knew something wasn't right. The exiles looked around. Mical didn't seem to feel it, and walked off to find a room. They looked at each other.

"Visas," Justin said quietly. The other three nodded. They slowly walked down the corridor to the Port dormitory, where they knew she'd be. They ignited their lightsabers and leaped into the room.

Beth had to duck to avoid getting decapitated by a thrown lightsaber. It imbedded itself in the wall behind her.

"Damn, man, what's your problem?!" Beth snapped.

They looked at Visas. She was a short woman, wearing a red robe. She had her hood up, and was wearing something that covered the top half of her face. They watched her cautiously.

Suddenly she threw out her hand. The lightsaber flew out of the wall and the hilt smacked Beth in the back of the head as it zoomed back to Visas' hand.

"Son of a bitch!" Beth yelled, holding her head. "What is with people and hitting the back of my head?!"

Visas leaped at her, sensing weakness. Beth lifted her lightsaber just in time to block the attack, and lifted her second one instinctively, preparing to stab her.

"Beth, no!" Justin called. He grabbed Visas from behind and threw her away. She slammed to the ground, but jumped up quickly, and stabbed at Justin. He only just managed to dodge.

The four of them backed up a bit. All had their lightsaber's ready, but were unwilling to attack this woman. She, however, was quite prepared to attack them. After a few minutes of attacks and blocks, Brennen flung out his hand and Force pushed her back. She crashed into the wall, and Johnny lunged forward and pinned her against the wall. Justin quickly ripped the lightsaber out of her hand before it could cause any damage and broke it.

Johnny let her go, bracing himself for an attack, but Visas dropped to her knees. "My life for yours," she whispered.

"Excuse me?"

"My life for yours," she repeated in the same hazy voice.

The exiles looked at each other. "Uh, if you say so," Justin said. "Why'd you attack us?"

"My master ordered it," she answered quietly.

"And who's your master?"

Beth rolled her eyes. "Obviously Nihilus. Who'd you think it was?"

"You know Beth, there's nothing wrong with not freaking out everyone we meet."

If Visas thought this conversation was odd, she didn't mention it. "My master is Darth Nihilus. The Lord of Hunger. He devours whole planets."

"Whoa, now there's some serious hunger," Beth said.

"Not physically. He devours the Force. That is how he destroyed my people. We, the Miraluka, were almost completely destroyed by Nihilus. We are very force-sensitive, and the remaining Jedi were meeting on our planet. I don't think he could resist."

"You mean, he just sucked the Force right out of the planet?" Brennen said.

"Yes, basically."

"But not you?"

"No. I do not know why he spared me."

"What was the name of your homeworld?" Johnny asked.

"Kataar."

"But why are you here?" Justin asked. "Were you sent to kill us?"

"Yes. But you defeated me. You may kill me now."

"Whoa whoa, I don't just kill people. You can stay here with us if you want though."

Visas seemed surprised at this. "You...You wish me to stay?"

"Sure."

"Then I shall." She rose.

"Visas, where is your master right now?"

"I do not know. He travels the borders of known space. And even if I did know, I would not tell you. You are not ready to face him."

"Five bucks we are," Beth muttered.

Visas glanced at her. Well, merely looked in her direction of her voice. The Miraluka were blind, and saw through the Force.

Justin wanted to talk with Visas a bit longer, so the other three walked off. Brennen saw Brianna and went stumbling after her. Johnny went to see Atton to tell him to take off. Beth went to her room in the medbay.

But it was no longer only hers.

"Hey! Necro! What are you doing here?"

Mical spun. He was working on Roger.

"Oh, sorry, I didn't know this was your room."

"What are you doing to my droid?" She glanced over her shoulder, half-expecting to see Roger there. "I wondered why he was so quiet."

"Yes, well, in one of your fights his vocabulator was broken. It could have anyone of them, because I saw him using himself as a projectile many times. I was just fixing it."

"Oh. Well, thanks." She walked up next to him, to see how he was doing. "No Necro, it's red to blue, not red to yellow."

"Oh. Right." He adjusted it. "How long are you going to call me Necro?"

"I don't know. For a while at least." They lurched forward as the ship began to rise.

"Is this actually your room?"

"It was."

"Do you want me to leave?"

"Nah. But there's only one bed, so we're going to have to alternate between sleeping on the bed and sleeping on the ground."

"I could just sleep on the ground."

"And have me feel guilty? Hell no. You're my apprentice, so I'll treat you semi-right. But I get the bed tonight."

"Aw, why?"

"Because I'm your master!"

While Beth and Mical were having this conversation, Brennen was trying his hand at talking to Brianna. She was sitting in the main hold, reading something. Brennen grinned and sat on the other side of table.

"Hey," he started.

"Hello," she said back, not even looking up.

"So, what was it like on Telos?"

"It was fine."

"Well, what was it like?"

"A bit boring, to tell the truth. We never saw anyone besides each other. That's why I wanted to talk to your four when you came along. New conversation."

The ship began to rise. Justin walked into the main hold, glanced at Brennen, smirked, and went into the cockpit to mark their next destination.

"What would you rather, staying there, or wandering the galaxy with us?"

"I'd rather see the galaxy then sit around in some icehole."

"Hey, how come you and all the other Handmaidens look almost the same?"

"Because we're sisters."

"Ya, but you're identical. Well, except you. You look a bit different."

"That's because I had a different mother."

"You all had the same father?"

"Yes."

"Wow. There were, like, twenty handmaidens in there. That's one mad daddy."

"I don't want to talk about it. He left years ago. I don't really remember him."

"Sorry."

"Ah, it's all right. I should talk about it, really."

"Well, if you don't want to, don't feel obligated."

"Well, I'm not very well liked amongst my sisters. I'm the worst fighter. And my mother was a Jedi."

"Wait, your mother was a Jedi?!" Brennen sat up straight. "Doesn't that mean your Force sensitive or something?"

"I suppose so." Brianna sighed. "But becoming a Jedi would forsake all the vows I took as a Handmaiden."

"Ya, but you could be a Jedi! And probably a strong one too!"

Brianna looked away. "I don't want to talk about it."

Brennen sat back. He didn't want to push his luck.

"So, where now Jaise?" Atton looked up at Justin.

"Nar Shadaa, I suppose," Justin said absentmindedly. He was thinking of Brennen and that Brianna chick. Did he really like her? That would be weird. And God knows he wasn't the smoothest with girls. He'd probably ruin it.

"It's three days flight to Nar Shadaa," Atton told him grimly. "Let's hope nothing goes wrong."

End Of Chapter 4


	5. Chapter 5

Knights Of The Old Republic Chapter 5– Three Days Of Crap, Followed By Another Three Days Of Crap

_Day One..._

"No Necro no! If you swing like that you leave yourself open for attack!"

Mical lowered the practice sword. "Well, it's not easy ok?"

"I thought you were a soldier," Beth accused.

"Ya, but the training there isn't as intense as here."

"Look buddy, I'm trying to keep you alive. The last thing I need is a dead apprentice. Now try again!"

Mical sighed, and faced-off against Beth again.

"How many people are we going to take on this ship?!" Kreia snapped. "This ship is not a yacht, we only have so much room!"

Justin glared at her. "We'll take whoever wants to come! We need all the help we can get!"

"Then prepare for an army. These people follow you four, and especially you, because you are leaders. Many will come if you allow it."

"Then I will allow them to come. Anything else you want to complain about, McBitchy?"

She sneered, then turned away. Evidently the conversation was over. Justin left, not unhappily. He walked by the cargo hold, and saw Brianna in there. He stopped. She seemed to be practising some sort of fighting stance. He walked in.

"Hey." She jumped, and he laughed.

"What're you up to?" he asked.

"I am practising the Enchani fighting stance. Back on Telos, we fought in such a way quite often."

"I see." He paused a moment, then said "Is it true you're force-sensitive?"

She jumped again. "Did he tell you?"

"No. I can feel it." He stepped closer. "You know, I could teach you to use the Force."

"You mean, like Beth taught Mical?"

"In a way. He'd already learnt it once though. But yes, I could teach you to use the Force like him."

"Well..."

"You don't have to. It is your choice." He leaned forward. "But you'd be able to use the Force like your mother."

"But...But that would forsake the vows I took as a Handmaiden."

Justin shrugged. "Like I said, it is your choice. But you wouldn't be a Handmaiden anymore if I showed you how to use the Force. You'd be a Jedi."

She looked conflicted. "I will give you time to think about it." Justin turned to leave, but she called out to him.

"No. Wait." She sucked in a breath. "I want to be a Jedi."

He nodded, grinning. "All right. Sit down. We must meditate."

She sat down. "Beth said she did it a different way."

Justin grinned. "Ya, but I don't want to have to slap around my apprentices."

Johnny and Brennen stood in the garage part of the ship. Bao-Dur stood in the corner, making some repairs on the ship. Remote floated over his shoulder.

The two exiles were training much like Beth and Mical, which meant they had practice swords.

Bao-Dur complained occasionally at the noise, but they ignored him.

There was break in the fighting for a few moments. Brennen wiped off his brow. "Hey, where's Jaise in all this?"

"Talking with Kreia." Johnny swung the sword, and Brennen blocked it easily.

"He talks with that old bag?" Brennen parried the attack.

"Ya." Johnny countered with a riposte. "He likes to keep up-to-date with everything on the ship."

"Pssh." Brennen smashed down on Johnny's sword. "Don't see why he bothers."

"He likes to learn I guess." Johnny slammed the sword out of Brennen's hand, and held his own to Brennen's throat. "I win again."

Brennen pushed the blade away. "Fuck this. I'm outta here."

He walked through the main hold, where Beth and Mical were giving it their all. Which included Force powers. The two were throwing one of the chairs back and forth across the room. Brennen stopped for a second to watch. It seemed the object of the game was to try and catch the chair with the Force, but neither seemed able to do it. Which meant the chair ended up smashing into the floor, the wall, each other. Occasionally one or the other would grab another random object from the ground and throw that across the room. Using the Force of course. It seemed to be a no hands game.

It probably would've been easier to catch the chair if they hadn't been laughing so hard they could barely breathe.

Brennen shook his head and started walking to the cargo hold, thinking of seeing Brianna. Beth seemed to be having a blast with her apprentice, and he was wondering if he could show Brianna how to use the Force. Then she'd be _his _apprentice, and...

Well, he'd think about that later.

However, it was not destined to be. He stood in the door of the cargo hold and stared as Justin showed Brianna how to lift a block off the ground. But not with her hands.

"Oh, you gotta be kidding me Justin!" Justin and Brianna spun, startled.

"Brezu, it's Jaise, not Justin."

"Fuck your Goddamn name!" Brennen hated this. "You knew _I _liked her, and now you go and pull a stunt like _this_?!"

"I think I'll go," Brianna said quietly, and hurried out the door.

Brennen didn't even notice. "You're always stealing girls away from me, you know that?!" he yelled.

"Calm down buddy, I only showed her how–"

"Bullshit!"

Beth had glanced over right when Brennen had started yelling. She got smacked in the head with the chair because of it, but she didn't notice. What was Brennen yelling about?

Brianna came running down the hall. Mical grabbed her sleeve. "What's going on?"

"I don't know," she answered.

Beth and Mical walked down the hall cautiously. They looked in the cargo hold, where Brennen was yelling at Justin. Justin seemed confused by the whole thing, but Brennen knew exactly what was pissing him off.

"Why don't you give me a chance for once, huh?!"

"Brezu, listen, I didn't mean anything by it. I just wanted to show her how to use the Force."

"_I _was going to do that!"

"Ooh," Beth whispered audibly. "The drama."

Evidently, this was the wrong thing to say. Brennen spun on her. "Oh shut up Beth. You never get anyone, you can't even get anyone, you wouldn't understand any of this!"

Silence. For a few seconds there was absolute silence. You could have heard a pin drop. Then Beth's eyebrows furrowed angrily.

"Ah shit." Justin grabbed Brennen by the back of his robes and pulled him back. Mical grabbed Beth's hood and dragged her away. Or tried. Beth ripped out of the grip and ignited her lightsabers.

"Say it again, Brezu."

Brennen sneered at her, but remained silent.

"What are you anyway, an emo?" Beth snapped. "We got worse things to worry about then banging random people. Besides–" She grinned "–you sound ridiculous. 'You don't understand any of this!'."

Brennen snorted. "I do, don't I? Fucking emo."

Justin shook his head. "There's not supposed to be emotions in this story! What is this?"

"Story?" Beth, Brennen and Mical looked at Justin, confused.

"Uh, nothing. Nothing."

"Do you know something we don't Jaise?" Beth asked.

"Nope. Nothing."

Beth shrugged. "Whatever. I got an apprentice to train. Let's go Necro!" The two walked out. Justin and Brennen heard Mical tell her to stop calling him Necro, and then the crashing sounds of objects being thrown around the room.

They looked at each other. Brennen rubbed the back of his neck. "Uh, ya. Sorry about the...you know."

"Look Brennen, you can have her. I just wanted to teach her to use the Force."

"Ya, all right."

Back in the garage, Johnny was talking to Bao-Dur. "So, you're a Zabrak eh?"

"I thought that was obvious," Bao-Dur said dryly. He was still working on the ship.

"Like Darth Maul right?"

"Like who, sorry?"

"Uh, never mind. Bit early for that." He looked at Remote, who was floating around, being pretty useless to tell the truth. "You know, I bet you could use the Force."

"Do you?" Bao-Dur didn't sound too interested.

"Yep. I can feel the Force in you. You could be one tough motherfucker."

"I don't know if I should be a Jedi."

"Why not?"

Bao-Dur paused for a moment, thinking. "I don't know," he said finally. "I got a lot of guilt inside of me, and that could turn to hate, and then I'd just be another Sith."

"Look, I know you feel guilty about the war, and all the people you killed, but if you become a Jedi, you can help us destroy the Sith, and make up for those deaths." As Beth would say, "such a typical light-side response". God, sometimes this game made him feel ridiculous.

Bao-Dur shook his head, and didn't answer. Johnny left him to it.

_Day Two..._

"Ow, ow, my face, ow."

Mical laughed. "What, did you try to catch that with your face? Cuz that's what it looked like!"

"Shit, that hurts." She held her nose.

"Here." He extended his hand. He'd learned Force Heal the day before, after the injuries began to worsen from the chair game. "Maybe we should take a break."

"That would be a good idea wouldn't it?"

"Yep."

"And do you want to follow through with the good idea?"

"Not really."

"Well then." She used the Force to lift the chair. "Catch!" The chair flew across the room.

Mical lifted a hand to stop it. The chair slammed right into his hand. There was cracking noise and he shouted. He fell to his knees, holding his wrist.

"Oh shit." Beth ran over. His wrist was broken, and already swelling. She snorted with laughter. "Maybe we should take a break. Can you heal that thing?"

"Ya," he said though gritted teeth. His hand glowed with a blue light, and the swelling in his wrist began to go down. The bone healed itself with a small crackling noise.

"There." He moved it around in a small circle, testing it. "It's better, though it was a very unpleasant experience."

"It was funny though."

"Oh ya."

They stood. "Maybe we should just–" Beth spun, slashing out with her lightsaber.

"Whoa, shit!" Mical stumbled backwards, tripping over his robes as he tried to avoid the blade. He fell over.

Beth laughed, turning off the saber. "Surprise!"

"You're an ass, Beth, you really are." He picked himself up. "What if I hadn't been able to dodge that?"

"Then you'd be dead, and I'd feel bad. But evidently the training's starting to work, cuz you aren't dead."

"Actually, if you hadn't given me these robes, I wouldn't have tripped, and wouldn't have been able to dodge the blade."

"Why do you think Jedi wear them?"

"For the sole purpose of tripping and dodging blades?"

"Exactly."

Atton walked in. "Hey, you guys wanna stop throwing chairs around?"

Justin suddenly came in through another door. "Matt Heafy." He left.

The three of them were silent. Then Atton looked at Beth and Mical. "Anyway, you wanna stop throwing chairs around? It's distracting."

"So's your face," Beth shot back.

Atton shook his head and went back in the cockpit. Beth turned to Mical. "Hey, how's Roger doing anyway? Did you fix his vocabulator?"

"Ya. He's just chilling out in medbay."

"Not for long." Beth raised her voice. "Roger! Get your droid ass out here!"

"Yes master." Roger floated out of medbay and took up his position over her shoulder.

"Hey Necro."

"Ya?"

Beth grabbed Roger. "Dodge this!" She threw the droid.

Mical leaped to the side, and slammed into a door. Roger rolled along the ground.

"Where'd this door come from?" Mical rubbed his shoulder.

"You're starting to sound like my master," Roger said as he picked himself up.

Mical tapped the door. "How do we get in?"

"Move."

"What?" He jumped out of the way just in time. Beth threw the chair at the door and smashed it open.

"Hey! Check it out!" The two looked through the door.

"Is that an HK unit?" Mical asked.

"Yep. HK-47 if I remember correctly."

"Did you meet him before?"

"Sorta." They inspected the droid more closely. It was missing some essential parts.

"Think you can repair it?"

"Sure. As long as I have the right parts."

Brennen sat next to Brianna in the cargo hold. He felt a bit awkward. He wished he hadn't exploded in front of her. Brianna ended up speaking first.

"So...You actually like me?"

"Uh, ya, I guess."

She shifted slightly. "Well, you know as a Jedi, I cannot form a relationship with others."

"Ya...But I'm a Jedi too. It doesn't bother me." Except that he was from another world, where Jedi didn't exist.

"I don't think we should start something. It could be dangerous." She got up and left.

"A shoot and a miss." Brennen looked up. Justin was standing in the doorway.

He shrugged. "It could be worse. Go train your apprentice." Justin walked off. "Dammit," he whispered.

Johnny walked into the garage again. "Bao-Dur?"

The Zabrak glanced at him. "Yes?"

"I wanted to talk to you about being a Jedi."

Bao-Dur turned back to his work. "I told you. I don't want to be a Jedi."

"You're just scared."

"Well, what if I do become a Sith?"

"Then you become a Sith, and we work our asses off to change you back. But what if you don't become a Sith? Then you can kick ass! Come on man!"

Bao-Dur sighed. "Fine. You want me to be a Jedi? How?"

Johnny grinned. "Simple. We meditate."

_Day Three..._

"Damn it!" Brennen scratched his head. How was it that all the others had managed to make a Jedi but him? Beth, Mical and Roger were working on some droid they'd found in one of the storage compartments on the table next to him. Justin and Brianna were training in the cargo hold. Johnny was showing Bao-Dur "the ways of the Force", or so to speak. They were supposed to reach Nar Shadaa at some point tonight, but that was at least twelve hours from now. He was bored and, truthfully, a bit depressed.

The droid sparked, and Beth shouted, whipping her hand back. Mical was laughing.

"Laugh it up Necro boy." She held her hand out. "Heal it corpse raper."

He shook his head, but healed it anyway.

Brennen growled. How did they do it? How did they all manage to convince the crew to become Jedi? At the risk of sounding like a child, it wasn't fair.

"No Mical! Take that out!" Brennen looked up. The droid chest plate was smoking.

"Too late! Hit the deck!" Beth, Mical and Roger leaped back, and the front of the droid exploded. Brennen covered his face. A couple pieces of the droid shrapnel flew across the room.

Beth and Mical peeked over the table. Brennen glared at them. "Wanna be careful? You're gonna get someone killed!"

Beth inspected the damage. "Chill out buddy. We're in more danger then you."

"Well, if you die, we won't be much better off." He glanced at Mical. "Hey, where'd you get the lightsaber?"

Mical looked down at his belt, where he'd put Vrook's lightsaber. "We, uh, 'forgot' to give Vrook his saber back."

"Forgot?" Brennen asked.

"For lack of a better word, yes," Beth answered.

The two Jedi and the droid continued to work on the HK unit. Brennen stood.

"Beth, I'm taking your room. I'm fucking tired." She grunted in reply. Brennen went into the medbay. There was a blanket and a pillow on the floor. He remembered Beth and Mical fighting over the bed once. Mical won that fight, if he remembered correctly. Beth somehow managed to fight with just about everyone over just about everything.

He was, of course, taking the bed, so he lay down and went to sleep.

_Night..._

"Hello, this is your captain speaking. We are approaching Nar Shadaa, the biggest scumhole this side of the galaxy."

Justin sat up. Goddamn Beth and her Goddamn speeches in the middle of the night. Or early in the morning.

"Atton informs me that the people of this planet will steal anything they can get their hands on, including random limbs, so keep your eyes on your eyes. This is Beth, signing off!"

He groaned. He really didn't want to get up. He'd only gone to sleep a couple hours before.

He stood, shaking his head. He walked out the door of the cargo hold, thinking pf going to the cockpit to get a look at this planet when suddenly a tall rust coloured droid stepped in front of him.

"Statement: Greetings Jaise meatbag! My masters informed me I am to abstain from killing you, so I will keep my trigger finger under control for now."

"Meatbag?" Justin shook his head again. He was still half-asleep. "I'm not a meatbag. I'm a porkbag!" He heard someone snort behind him, and turned to see Brennen standing there, listening.

"Irritated Statement: Very well, Jaise porkbag, but I only agree to this because it's practically the same thing."

"So who are your masters?"

Mical stepped out from behind HK-47. "We are," he answered. "Me and Beth."

"What about Roger?"

"It seems his programming doesn't allow for a floating HK head to be his master."

"Statement: I refuse to answer to some head!"

"That's basically what I said, HK."

HK was silent.

"So you got him up and running eh? How did it take?"

Mical let a long breath. "All...damn...night." He lifted his arm, and Justin now saw it was wrapped in bandages. "I exhausted my Force powers a few hours ago, and Beth doesn't know Force heal. We had to resort to simpler methods."

"Geez, you guys aren't very good at repairs are you?" Justin took another look at HK, trying to find some sign of his destructive rebuilding.

"Hey, I think we did pretty good, seeing as we have limited supplies."

"Humorous Statement: And limited fingers, master."

"Ya well, you're gonna have limited parts if you keep talking."

"Query: Is that a threat master?"

"Yes it is HK. Quiet."

Brennen laughed. "And how badly hurt is Beth?"

"She got an eyeful of smoke, so she had to wash it out. She's got a bandage around her left eye right now."

"Sucker."

"Hello everyone! Beth again. We are currently landing on Nar Shadaa. Please file off in an orderly fashion. Or run amok and hurt yourselves. I don't really care."

The exit ramp lowered, and the crew of the Ebon Hawk walked out. The exiles looked around. There were huge buildings all around them, and it was very dark. Whether it was smog, night, or simply no sun to speak of near the planet was unknown. Although the landing pad they were on really did have it's own distinctive smell.

"What are we looking for again?" Beth asked. Mical had been right. She did have a bandage around her eye.

"We're looking for Zez Kei El, the Jedi Master," Justin answered. "Now who's coming with us?"

There was a sad silence for a moment. The exiles glanced at the crew.

"Uh, I'll come," Mical offered.

"I suppose I will too," Brianna said.

"And me," Bao-Dur added.

"Statement: I will go wherever you want Master," HK said.

"Anyone else?" Beth asked.

"Don't forget me Master," Roger said, floating over her shoulder.

"Roger, I never forget you. Well, I guess it's just the nine of us." She looked at Justin expectantly.

"What? Oh, right." He cleared his throat. "All right men, let's MOVE OUT!!" He led them away.

"Why do I get the feeling this trip will end in disaster?" Bao-Dur muttered.

_Two hours later..._

"Someone please explain to me," Bao-Dur started, "How it is we managed to look in a couple places for the Jedi, get bored, and ended up in a bar?"

They had indeed ended up in a bar. Well, a cantina. Justin had merely suggested they grab a drink, and before you know it, they were a cantina putting down the booze like it was water.

"Geez, Beth, I didn't know you were a drinker," Johnny said, watching her throw back a few shots.

"Ya, me neither."

Bao-Dur shook his head. "Any one of you could out-drink any soldier during the war."

"Sweet," Brennen said, ordering another glass of booze.

"Maybe we shouldn't...uh, you know...get faced," Mical said thickly. He wasn't a big drinker, that was obvious. He was already drunk.

"Statement: Perhaps you should follow your own advice, master."

Mical pushed him away, then slumped face first on the bar counter.

"Ah, maybe he's right." Beth stood, swaying. She grabbed him by the back of the robe, put one arm around her shoulders and lugged him out. Justin paid the tab and followed her out, a bit dizzy. Brennen chugged down the rest of his drink and stumbled out the door. Bao-Dur shook his head, walking out with HK.

Brianna was waiting outside. She sighed impatiently at the sight of Beth supporting her apprentice. "I don't see why you people bother getting drunk. You act like an idiot, possibly humiliate yourselves, and then the next morning you have a hangover. What's the point in drinking?"

"Act like an idiot," Justin said, grinning.

Brianna shook her head, then paused. "Wait a minute, where's Lorenti?"

The others looked around. "Hey, that's right, where is the Jon master?" Brennen laughed.

"He'll turn up," Beth said, blinking, trying to focus her eyes.

"Maybe we should get back to the ship," Bao-Dur said, a bit worried. "No point looking for the Jedi when the exiles are tanked."

"Hey!" Beth hiccuped. "Necro's drunk too!"

"Hey, where's your little droid, Roger?" Brianna asked.

Beth looked over her shoulder. For once, she looked a bit concerned. "Roger?" she muttered.

"Come on," Brianna said, gesturing for them to follow her. They followed obediently.

_In the Nar Shadaa docks..._

Roger floated along, looking around. He figured while his master was drinking, he may as well continue searching.

He passed a giant, dark furred wookiee. Little did he know, it was Hanharr, an evil bounty hunter searching for the exiles. And he did not care for lives of others. He looked irritably at the curious droid as it stopped for a closer look.

He growled at Roger in wookiee. "Piss off droid. I'm not in a good mood."

"I just wanted to ask you a question," Roger said appealingly.

"I said PISS OFF!" He whipped out a gun and shot the small droid.

_The next day..._

"Aw man, I have such a hangover." Mical sat up, holding his head.

"Quiet!" Beth snapped. "I think my head's gonna crack!"

Someone laughed. The two looked up and saw Brianna standing in the doorway. "Welcome to hangover land, population: you. Are you happy now?"

Mical groaned. "Easy on the voice there girl!"

"Hey Necro, will Force Heal work on a hangover?" Beth asked.

He didn't answer. His hands started to glow, then suddenly he blinked. "Hey, it did work!" He extended his hand, and used Force Heal on Beth too.

"Finally," Beth said, standing. "A cure for the hangover. Think you can heal my eye while you're at it?"

"Nah. My arm's more important." He raised his hand to heal his arm, but Beth leaped at him.

"This is what I think of your arm!" The two started fighting.

Brianna rolled her eyes and walked away. Lorenti had indeed turned up in the night, collapsed on the table in the main hold. Jaise had stumbled into Visas' room and babbled out some gibberish before passing out on the floor. Brezu had walked, swaying, into the cargo hold, where he'd first tried his hand at convincing Brianna to be his girlfriend before passing out too.

Jaise was in the main hold right now, poking Lorenti occasionally to see if he'd wake. He looked up at Brianna.

"Beth and Mical discovered the cure for the hangover," she informed him. There was crash and one of the two yelled.

"I wondered why they were so energetic." He watched them roll out of medbay, threatening each other with what looked like flashlights. "So what is the cure?"

"Force Heal."

"Ah, it's so simple!" He used it immediately, then administered the treatment to Johnny. "I should probably do it to Brezu too." He got up to go to the cargo hold.

Brennen was already awake. He seemed to wondering where he was. "I don't remember coming back here," he told Justin.

"Well, you did. Come here, Force Heal gets rid of a hangover." Brennen went towards him right away.

"Is that Beth and Mical fighting out there?" Brennen asked. Justin looked out the door just in time to see Beth get pitched by.

"Who else?" he said dryly.

_One hour later..._

Once again they were preparing to explore the planet. Beth was worried because Roger had never turned up. Brianna, who seemed to have taken a liking to Roger, assured her that he was probably just lost.

The eight of them set out again, determined to find Zez Kei El this time.

_Two hours later..._

"How is it we ended up in the cantina again?" Bao-Dur asked, annoyed.

Yes, once again the exiles had managed to drift over to the bar and get drunk before the others realized what had happened. Brianna, once again, was sitting outside the cantina. Bao-Dur and HK were watching the exiles and, of course, Mical to make sure they didn't do anything stupid. Well, at least anything life-threatening.

Beth and Brennen were fighting again. Really, they themselves probably didn't know what they were arguing about. But whenever it started getting violent, Bao-Dur and HK would pull them apart. Justin and Johnny were eyeing a couple females in the corner of the room and whispering to each other. Bao would definitely have to keep an eye on that!

He didn't know where Mical had gone. He had been talking to some girl one minute, and the next time Bao looked he was gone. That had a real bad vibe about it.

Bao-Dur glanced over at Brennen and Beth. He blinked, confused. Beth wasn't there anymore. Brennen was sitting alone.

"This won't end well," Bao-Dur muttered. He turned to HK. "Go find Beth."

Abruptly Kreia walked into the bar. She looked about in disgust as HK walked past her to search the place for Beth.

She walked up to the exiles. They didn't notice her.

"What are you doing in here?" she snapped. Justin, Johnny and Brennen jumped.

"Whoa man!" Brennen exclaimed. "Kreia's telepathic! She's speaking to me in my mind!"

"What little there is. I'm right here!"

The three turned and jumped at the sight of Kreia. "She can warp too!" Justin laughed.

Kreia smacked him in the back of the head. "Where's Beth?"

"She said something about finding the meaning of the universe," Johnny answered, then broke into laughter.

"Useless," she muttered. She turned to Bao-Dur. "Do you know where she is?"

"Nope. She disappeared shortly after her friend Mical."

"I do not care about the boy. Take these three back to the ship. I will find Beth."

"No need! I sent HK to look for her."

"I will find her easier. Now take them back to the ship. Perhaps tomorrow will yield better results in our search."

Bao-Dur dragged the exiles out the door, all of whom were singing a rousing round of "We all live in a yellow submarine". Kreia shook her head. Sometimes it just wasn't worth the effort.

_Elsewhere on Nar Shadaa..._

"Damn. I'm sure he came this way." Beth was searching for Mical, which would have been easier if she hadn't been so drunk. She stumbled into an apartment complex, thinking of asking someone if they'd seen Mical.

However, there was no need. The first room she fell more then walked into yielded instant results.

"Oh, sorry, you're busy." She turned and walked right back out. She heard someone yell at her. She stumbled towards a wall and sat down. She snorted, and smirked. _Give Necro some, uh, time alone with his new friend._

HK-47 walked along the docks on Nar Shadaa. He noticed a wookiee, but ignored him and continued searching for his masters. He'd noticed the sub-conscious implication from the Zabrak meatbag to find Mical at the same time.

He stopped at a street corner and looked around. There were very few people around, he noticed. For a minute he was irritated that he had been given the assignment of finding two drunken idiots who had wandered away from the group and probably passed out in a gutter somewhere. Then he saw the two drunken idiots walking quite drunkenly down the street towards him.

He hurried forwards. "Statement: Master! It is good to see you again. That Zabrak meatbag has been ordering me around like–" He paused when the two looked at him. "Query: Is there something wrong Master?"

"Uh, no HK." Mical glanced at Beth, who seemed to be a bit dizzy from the alcohol. "But I think I'm done with booze for a while."

_The next day..._

"Ok, this time, we search Nar Shadaa for Zez Kei El. No distractions this time!"

"Ya Necro," Beth muttered.

"Oh shush Beth," Mical shot back.

"What are you two talking about?" Justin asked.

"Nothing," the two said.

Once again the eight set out, to try and find the Jedi Master.

_In Nar Shadaa docks..._

"Are you sure this is where we go first?" Justin asked.

"Not at all," Beth said, looking around. "Hey, what's that over there?" Justin looked. It looked like a small pile of meaningless trash to him, but Beth was running over to it, so the others followed.

"It looks like someone dumped some parts here," Brianna said, poking it.

Suddenly Beth felt herself growing cold. "It's not," she whispered. She lifted the pile. "It's Roger."

A silence fell over them. None were sure what to say. They all knew how much Beth had liked that droid. Justin patted her on the back.

"Don't worry, you can...You can just make another one!" he said cheerfully.

She shook her head. "No. It wouldn't be like Roger. That's the droid I want. No offence HK."

"Statement: None taken Master."

She sat back, looking at the pile of circuits and components in her hands. "What destroyed him though?" she muttered. "I just wish I knew that."

"Statement: I believe I may know who destroyed your droid Master."

Beth leaped up. "Who was it?"

"Answer: I saw a wookiee standing here yesterday when I was looking for you Master. He had a gun with him. He looked like an angry creature, and fully capable of attacking without reason."

"Hanharr," Beth growled.

"What?" Brianna said.

"Don't worry about it." She looked at her broken friend again and sighed. Then she dropped the parts and clenched her fists. "I'll kill that bloody wook if it's the last thing I do!"

The others backed away from her nervously. Beth had never looked as dangerous as she did right then.

_One hour later..._

"All right, everyone understand our mission?"

They had gone into the refugee sector of Nar Shadaa where they'd met up with the leader, who'd told them that the Exchange was pressuring them terribly, taking up all their space and demanding outrageous amounts of money. The leader asked them to convince their leader, another Quarren, to lay off a bit. However, the exiles had played the game, and they knew the Exchange wasn't going to back off without a fight.

And so Justin had told them to suit up and prepare for battle. 'Suit up' meaning ready your weapons, and 'prepare for battle' meaning "Let's kick some Exchange ass!".

However, they were going in peaceful at least. Even though the five with lightsabers had them ignited, and Brianna and Bao had their swords ready, and HK was priming up his blaster rifle.

The Exchange lackeys let them by without question. They were all Gammoreans and Trandoshans, which they figured would be no match for them. It didn't take them long to find the Quarren's office, and they didn't waste any time with pleasantries.

Justin slammed his fists down on the Quarren's desk. "So, you gonna lay off on the refugees or what?"

The Quarren glared at them. He started speaking in that strange language, the one that sounded like a squid speaking Basic. Brennen translated. "How did you get in here?" he demanded.

"We walked," Beth said coldly. "Now, are you gonna give the refugees some space, or are we gonna have to make some ourselves?"

"Is that a threat?"

Justin looked at Beth uneasily. She was even scaring him. "Ya, I guess you could say that. So? Do we have a deal?"

"No!" The Quarren slammed his fist on the desk. At first they just thought he was angry. Then the alarm went off.

"Looks like it's fight time," Brennen said, grinning. They spun to meet a barrage of Gammorean guards.

They were too weak and slow, however. In only a few seconds the Gammoreans were cut down and slaughtered. They turned back to the Quarren. "That all you got?" Justin asked.

Footsteps. They turned to look, and a Trandoshian slammed it's sword through Brennen's gut.

His eyes widened. "Aw, shit," he muttered. He fell back.

Justin, too late, flung out his hand. The Trandoshan started to choke. His death was too slow for Johnny and Beth though, and they stabbed the giant lizard with their lightsabers over and over again, even after he was dead.

"Damn it Brezu," Justin growled, kneeling next to him. "You'd better not die." He extended his hand and used Force Heal.

Beth turned to the Quarren. "This is for you." She threw her lightsaber through his giant squid head. She looked at Justin, summoning back her lightsaber. "How is he? He'd better not die too."

"He'll be all right,"Justin said, relieved. Brennen sat up.

"My stomach hurts," he complained.

"Nothing some pepto bismol won't cure," Johnny said.

"I guess the Exchange won't bother the refugees anymore," Mical said, looking at the dead Quarren.

"There's still some guards left," Beth said quietly. She looked at the others. "We gotta finish the job."

Justin shivered. "Ok, seriously, Beth? You're really creeping me out. Did you really like Roger that much?"

"Perhaps," she said softly. The others shifted away slightly.

They ran through the rest of the base, killing the rest of the Exchange lackeys. Then they went back to the Refugee Sector.

The leader was happy to see them. "Thank you for getting rid of the Exchange for us! Now things will be much easier."

"Glad we could help," Justin said. "Anything else we can do for you?"

The leader shook his head. "You've done so much for us already! Thank you again!"

They walked out of the Refugee Sector. They stood there for a few moments, then Beth yawned.

"Maybe we should go back to the ship for the night," Justin suggested. "It's been a long day."

The others agreed, and they went back to the ship for the night.

_The next day..._

"Hey." Atton poked Justin in the side. "Hey. Wake up. T3's got a message for you exiles."

"Can it wait?" Justin mumbled, trying to fall asleep again.

"I don't think so. Come on!" He tugged on his arm.

"All right, all right." Justin got up. He had a feeling he knew what the message was. He shook Brennen and Johnny awake. "Guys. I think it's Visquis."

"Who?" Brennen asked sleepily.

"Yet another Quarren. Visquis."

"Oh ya." He rubbed his eyes. "Do we ever get to sleep as much as we want around here? If it's not Beth blasting out the daily news, it's some other random crap."

"Speaking of Beth, I hope she's in a better mood today." There was a crash. The three looked out the door. A chair lay there.

"Oh God." Johnny slapped his hand over his face.

The chair rose on it's own, and they heard someone yell "Catch!" and then more crashing noises.

Justin shook his head, smiling. "Sounds like Beth's all better." They walked into the main hold. Beth and Mical were no longer throwing the chairs, but having a sword fight with them. Atton backed away. T3 bleeped in the corner of the room.

Kreia was irritated, as she always was when people were enjoying themselves. "You two stop it!" she snapped. "This is an urgent message!" Beth and Mical ignored her. She swung her hand, and the chairs flew across the room.

"Aww!"

"The message!" She pointed at T3.

Without further adieu, T3 beamed out a hologram. And, just as Justin had predicted, it was another Quarren, Visquis. Brennen translated the creature's words.

"Greetings, Jedi exiles! I am Visquis. I would like to speak with you in the Jekk'Jekk Tarr. Please don't bring anyone else. Four humans is more then enough." The hologram fizzled out.

"Well, that's good. At least there's no way it could be a trap!" Atton said sarcastically.

"No Atton, I think it may be a trap," Mical insisted.

"Ok, will you lighten up a bit?!"

"Shut up!" Justin snapped. "Now are we gonna go or what?"

"You gotta be shitting me!" Atton said. "You're gonna get killed! The Jekk'Jekk'Tarr is poisonous as it is!"

"Ya, isn't that the alien bar with the weird atmosphere?" Brennen said to Justin.

"Don't worry, we got those four spacesuits. They'll keep us alive."

"We kept those?"

"Yep."

"Huh. Ok, so that's that problem solved. Any others Atton?"

"Well, obviously!" Atton said angrily. "There's still the fact that this is a trap! No spacesuit will prepare you for that!"

"No, but this lightsaber will."

Atton opened his mouth to object again, but Kreia interjected. "They must go. Trap or not, they must hear the information Visquis has for them. It may be useful."

"Ya. Or deadly," Atton muttered. However, it was decided. The four exiles grabbed their spacesuits and headed off for the Jekk'Jekk'Tarr.

_Nar Shadaa Docks..._

They looked across the docks at the Jekk'Jekk'Tarr. "Ah," Beth sighed. "So big, yet so small."

"What?" The others looked at her.

"Nothing." They heard footsteps behind them. They spun.

A short red haired woman stood before them. They looked at each other quietly.

"So. Going to see Visquis?" she said. It wasn't a question.

"Yes. Yes we are. Why do you care?"

"Because he's planning to kidnap you and bring you to Vogga The Hutt."

"Vogga?"

"Ya. Local crimelord. Except that Goto–"

"Goto?"

"Yes Goto! Anyway, Vogga hates Goto cuz he keeps stealing his shipments."

"Shipments of what?"

"Fuel. But that's not the point."

"And what is the point?"

"I'm taking your spacesuit and going instead of you."

"Why?"

"Because if you go, you're either going to die, or you'll be sold to Vogga."

"I'm not scared of old Goggles."

"Goggles?"

"Ya. Goggles."

The girl shook her head, but before she could continue Beth cracked her in the head with her lightsaber hilt.

"Why'd you do that?" Justin asked.

"Because I want to go, not her." She put her lightsaber back in her belt.

"That's as good a reason as any, I guess." The four continued on to the Jekk'Jekk'Tarr.

They put on the spacesuits and walked into the bar. The Trandoshan bouncer gave them a strange look, but shook his head and ignored them.

The bar was full of Twi'Leks, Trandoshans, Grans, and many other alien species. They all sneered at them, but said nothing.

The four of them immediately began searching for the private section of the bar reserved for important people and, presumably, Visquis. Well, not presumably, they knew this for a fact.

They finally found the room, where stood silently, waiting for them. And next to him was Hanharr.

Visquis(Brennen translated) informed them that the atmosphere was suitable for humans, and that they could take off the suits. They took them off immediately.

"You!" Beth snarled at Hanharr. The wookiee glanced at her.

"All right, Visquis, you asked us to come here, now what do you want?" Justin got right to the point.

"Simple. I am going to take you to Vogga The Hutt." He pressed a button and lightning flew out of holes in the wall.

"Force Shield!" Johnny howled. He flung his arms to either side, and a transparent blue wall appeared around them. The lightning slammed into the shield, but did not pass.

"Lorenti, since when could you use Force Shield?" Brennen asked.

"Since about now," he answered.

They looked up at Visquis and Hanharr, but they were gone. The exiles had time to see a door close, and they knew that's where the Quarren and the wookiee had gone.

Johnny dropped the shield. They looked at each other. "We go, right?"

"Of course," Beth said. "He killed Roger. I'll get him for that."

The four exiles ran through the door after the two aliens.

At first they merely ran forward, heedless of their surroundings. Then suddenly Beth remembered something. She looked around.

"Shit. Guys, is this the maze?"

They stopped and looked around. "Shit, it is. I hope we're not lost."

"Well, so what? We'll just wander about aimlessly until we find our way out. It's not like we haven't had to do so before." They continued running about aimlessly.

_Two hours later..._

"Guys! Guys! I found the door!"

"Beth, that's a wall."

"Oh."

_Another hour later..._

"You know, Visquis and Hanharr must be getting bored of waiting by now."

"DON'T MENTION HANHARR AROUND ME!!"

"Shit man, I think Beth needs to be exorcised."

_Yet another hour later..._

"Ok, I'm officially sick of mazes now."

"Hey, do you think we'll cheese at the centre?"

"..."

"Guys?"

"Beth shut up."

_Two hours later..._

"Ah shit, I'm so tired of this place."

"How long have we been in here?"

"I think six hours."

"AHHH! LOOOOOOOONG!"

_A seventh hour later..._

"Now that, Beth, is a door."

"Is it the door we need?"

"Nope. That leads back to the Jekk'Jekk'Tarr."

"Piss."

_One more hour later..._

"Huh. So all we had to do was go straight through." The exiles finally stood before Visquis' door.

Beth walked up to it and tapped it. "Uh, it's locked."

"Well, unlock it!"

"How? It's locked from the inside."

Brennen rolled his eyes. "Well then Beth," he said slowly, as though speaking to an idiot, "punch through the door and unlock it! This isn't a difficult thing."

"Oh, right." She slammed a fist through the door and felt around for the unlock switch. "Wait, it was farther left." She withdrew the hand and slammed it through on the left side. "There!" She pulled her hand back out and the door opened.

They ignited their lightsabers, expecting an onslaught of men to rush them. But there was nothing. They looked around cautiously.

"Huh," Justin said, scratching his head. "Weren't there supposed to be a ton of things in here?"

"Ya," Johnny said.

"Maybe they got bored," Brennen suggested. "We were in the maze for, like, eight hours."

"Ya. That's true."

"Come on!" Beth started forward. "I wanna find Hanharr, and kill him!"

"Beth," Justin warned. "Hate leads to the dark side."

"So does your face. Fine. Find Hanharr and beat him to a bloody pulp." She punched her fist.

"Violent bastard."

"You know it. Now come _on_." She ran off. The others followed quickly.

They ran through short hallway and past a door. Beth was ahead of them, and went through the door first. It shut abruptly, and the other three slammed into it.

"Shit!" Justin punched the door angrily. "Come on!" He ran back up the hall. "If I remember correctly, there's a window up here where we can see!"

Beth turned to look at the door. "That ain't good." She tested one of her lightsabers on it, but she couldn't push it through. "Of course. There's never an easy way out." She heard another door open behind her, and spun.

Hanharr walked through the door, holding a sword in each hand. Beth smirked. "Easy," she muttered. She raised her voice. "So, decided to take on someone your own size for once?"

This was pretty rich, since Hanharr was probably twice her size. He roared something in wookiee at her, but she didn't understand the language. Still, she continued to bait him.

"You're gonna pay for what you did to Roger, you cream-filled bastard."

He growled something. She ignored it. "Let's go, you cheap porcelain shit!" She leaped at the wook.

He smashed her to the side with a paw. She crashed into the wall, and dropped her lightsabers. She picked herself up slowly. Hanharr body checked her into the wall again. She shouted. He backed up, and she fell to her hands and knees. He roared, lifting his swords. He stabbed down, but Beth used Force Run and zipped across the arena. Hanharr, confused, hesitated, not knowing where she was. Beth used the opportunity to search the floor for her lightsabers.

She heard a muffled yelling, and the sound of someone banging on glass. She frowned, then looked up. Justin, Brennen and Johnny were standing behind a window up above her. Justin was yelling something she couldn't quite make out, and seemed to be pointing at Hanharr, or somewhere around him. _Does he think I can't see him or something? I know he's there! _She thought.

Hanharr charged her again. She leaped in the air, propelled by the Force. Too propelled, however. She hit the roof, and fell back to the ground.

She lay on the ground. "Ow..." she groaned through gritted teeth. "I'm so useless sometimes..."

Hanharr laughed cruelly. She stood slowly. She looked about with only her eyes for her lightsabers, but the ground was dark, and the hilts blended in. Hanharr prepared to charge again. She sucked in a breath. He rushed at her. She screamed so loud the windows rattled. Hanharr's face had a flash of surprise before flying back against the wall.

He leaped up quickly, before Beth had a chance to get her breath back, and ran at her. He threw one of the swords. She ducked under it. By this time he was upon her, and slashed out. She dodged, but not quite enough. The blade slashed her arm wide open.

She leaped back, holding her arm, trying to staunch the bleeding. It was a deep cut. She was sure she heard her friend's groan behind the window. "Dammit." She fell to her knees. "Hope I'm not in over my head here." Her hand touched something. She looked down. Her lightsaber.

Hanharr ran at her to finish the job. She grabbed the lightsaber and in a flash ignited it and swung. Hanharr froze, impaled on the blade. She turned off the lightsaber, and the wook collapsed on the ground.

Beth straightened up, still holding her arm. She ripped a strip of her sleeve off and tied around her arm. "Fuck I hate swords," she muttered.

The doors on both sides opened. On one side Justin, Brennen and Johnny piled through. On the other side Visquis walked through.

"Squid-head," Beth growled.

"Beth, you all right?" Justin asked, looking at her arm.

"Ya, I'll be fine," she said through gritted teeth, pulling her arm away.

"So...What now squid face?"

Visquis looked a bit uneasy, but then suddenly he smiled. He pointed at something behind them. "Get the Jedi!" he roared.

The four spun, igniting their lightsabers. A number of alien creatures ran at them. They braced themselves, but the creatures went past them. Confused, the exiles slowly turned back around. The creatures stood in a circle around Visquis. The Quarren looked at them uncertainly.

"Get...Get the Jedi..." Then suddenly he realized. "You...You never did work for me..."

A deep masculine voice spoke up. "Visquis, you treacherous slug, I knew you wouldn't give me the Jedi."

Visquis jumped. "Goto," he whispered. Then he added frantically "Goto, here, take the Jedi, free of charge!"

"Oh quiet," the man, Goto, snapped. "Men, take care of him." The creatures whipped out their swords and stabbed Visquis. It was so blunt and unexpected the exiles were stunned.

"So...Jedi." The four looked around for the source of the voice, but saw nothing. "I've finally found you."

"Piss off Goto." Justin raised his lightsaber. "We're not going out without a fight."

Beth frowned. "Wait, Justin, doesn't he have that elec–" Lightning flew out from the walls. There was no time to block this time. They were engulfed in electricity. For a moment they were frozen, and then they passed out from the pain.

_Elsewhere..._

Mira shook her head, looking around Visquis' base. Where had those damn Jedi gone?

Then she heard something. She peered around the next corner. A number of men were carrying something. She looked closer...

The Jedi.

She growled quietly to herself, pulling back. "Idiots," she muttered. "That damn Visquis cheated me out of my bounty. I'll get him for this." She heard quiet footsteps behind her. She turned.

"Your friends have been captured by Goto," she told the man. He frowned worriedly.

_An undetermined amount of hours later..._

_How many times have I woke up groaning and in pain now?_ Justin forced himself up. The other three were standing around him too. Someone had bandaged Beth's arm while they were out cold, but she was still holding it. He wondered for a moment if it still hurt, but then a large, round droid drifted towards them and all his attention was focussed on it.

The droid produced a hologram of a man. He was tall, bearded, and balding, but still looked relatively young. And he looked pretty sharp. He grinned wryly at them.

"I expected someone taller," he said with a hint of humour. He glanced at Johnny. "And someone a bit smaller."

"Cut to the chase Goto," Justin snapped. "We know what you want. To help keep the Republic up and running. And we'll be glad to do it–"He gestured at the door "–if you let us go."

He laughed. "I'm afraid not. It seems like wherever you go destruction and mayhem follow." Justin, Brennen and Johnny glanced at Beth. She glared back.

"Hey, don't pin this shit on just me! You helped!"

Suddenly an alarm went off. The exiles glanced at the ceiling. "What's that?" Justin asked.

"It seems we are under attack," Goto told them coolly. "Your friends seem to have found you. I must go now, and see to the protection of my ship." The hologram fizzled out, and the droid floated away.

"We're on Goto's ship right now, right?" Johnny asked.

"Yep." Justin answered. He sat down. "Well, we may as well chill out for now. It'll take a little bit for our buddies to find us."

_Half an hour later..._

"Flush."

"_Royal _flush."

"Son of a bitch."

Beth and Brennen were passing the time with a few rounds of Texas Hold 'Em, or, as they'd dubbed it here, Tatooine Hold 'Em. Where'd they'd gotten the cards was anyone's guess. Beth, however, was a shameless cheater.

"Beth! Are those cards up your sleeve?"

"Uh, no."

"They are! You shit!"

Brennen grabbed his lightsaber. Beth swore and ran. Justin and Johnny were entertained for a few minutes by Brennen threatening to stab Beth with his lightsaber. But then Beth tripped and slammed down on her injured arm and shouted out in pain.

Justin stepped in. "Brennen, leave her alone," he ordered. Brennen stepped back as Beth pushed herself up with her other arm.

"Can't you heal it or something?" Brennen asked.

"Sorry, but no. The lightning exhausted my Force powers, and I myself am tired as Hell."

"I'll be fine," Beth growled, though she was no longer in a good humour.

Suddenly, one of the doors to the room opened. Mical, Brianna, HK-47 and Kreia ran in.

"Beth!" Mical ran up and hugged her.

"Ow ow OW! Get off me you freak!" Beth struggled to push him away.

"Brennen!" Brianna practically pounced at him. She wrapped her arms around his neck and practically choked him. "Thank the Gods you're all right!" Brennen was speechless. But then, maybe he couldn't breathe under Brianna's grip around his throat.

"Geez, don't we get hugs?" Justin muttered. Then he saw Kreia. "Never mind."

"Statement: Master! It is good to see you again, and relatively undamaged."

Beth had finally managed to fight her apprentice away, and had her bad arm wrapped around the front of her robe. "Thanks a bunch buddy," she said angrily. "Now it _really _hurts."

"Sorry," Mical said, looking concerned. "I can heal it if you want."

"Go ahead." She flung her arm out at him. While he healed it Kreia turned to Justin.

"I take it the meeting didn't go well?"

"No, not really. You're here to break us out right?"

"Yes. But the doors leading to our ship have shut and locked. We will need to find the bridge, and turn off the power to get it unlocked."

"All right. Come on guys!" The others looked over at him. "MOVE OUT!!" He led them out of the room.

_Half an hour later..._

"Are you sure this is the way to the bridge?" Beth asked. She was in much better spirits now that her arm was healed.

"Nope," Justin answered simply.

"Ok."

"Perhaps another should lead then?" Kreia commented.

"Hey, McBitchy? I didn't ask for a McBitch burger."

"I do not want to wander about for hours!" Kreia snapped.

"I didn't ask for McBitch fries with that!"

She growled quietly, but shut up.

It only took them another couple minutes to find the bridge of the ship. Justin immediately set Beth and HK to the task of turning off the power. They struck a problem however.

"Statement: It seems certain codes are needed to do anything with the functions of this ship," HK informed them.

"Either that, or we hot-wire it!" Beth said. She smashed open the panel.

"Beth, you could've just opened it. You don't need to break everything you go near."

"Don't I?" She took out a pair of plyers from her pocket and began cutting wires. "Tell me if it works, HK."

"Statement: Yes Master."

Justin suddenly felt uneasy. Truthfully, Beth was the last person he'd ever want rewiring his ship. "Beth, are you sure you should be doing that?"

Suddenly the lights went out. An alarm went off, and a dull emotionless voice said "Warning. Ship is set to self destruct in five minutes."

"Nope," Beth answered, putting away her plyers.

"Damn it Beth!"Justin smacked her in the back of the head. "Come on! Let's get out of here!" They ran out the door.

The eight of them zipped through hallway after hallway, through rooms and out doors. Occasionally a droid stepped in their way, and they would whip out lightsabers and cut it to pieces. But then they continue running.

Justin tried to treat the situation seriously. But that was difficult when Beth was singing "Drunken Lullabies" by Flogging Molly, not stopping even when they were fighting, or the dull mechanical voice called out that their time was running out.

Luckily they managed to reach their ship with two minutes to spare. All but Kreia were either laughing or grinning from Beth's song. Therefore they were not at all angered or worried when they saw four bounty hunters blocking their way.

"So we must fight eh?" Beth laughed, spinning her lightsabers. She restarted the song.

Justin laughed and attacked. The bounty hunter, a Trandoshan, raised his single sword. Justin slashed it twice, cutting it shorter each time. He sliced off the giant lizard's sword hand, then swung one last time at his throat.

Beth, flipping his lightsabers about like a fan on either side, leaped at a human bounty hunter. He had two swords, but Beth slashed off both his arms. She stabbed one saber through the bounty hunter's chest, and the other through his face.

Brennen, feeling on top of the world after Brianna's hug, was more then ready for this fight. His opponent, an Aqualish, had a double-bladed sword. Brennen paused a moment, letting the alien try to attack him. Brennen spun his lightsaber once, cutting through the sword and cutting off a good portion of the Aqualish's left arm. He spun the saber again and sliced the hunter in half.

Johnny faced a Gammorean which held a giant cleaver. Johnny cocked his head at the Gammorean, then said "Hey, you wanna see something cool?" The Gammorean was obviously an idiot, for it nodded eagerly, squealing like pig. Johnny held his lightsaber a couple feet away from the Gammorean's face. "Keep an eye on the shiny blade!" The Gammorean stared at it. Johnny pressed a button on the hilt, and it doubled in length, stabbing through the pig's face.

"Easy as shit!" Beth laughed, still spinning her blades dangerously.

"One minute to self destruct."

"Let's go!" Justin ran into the ship. "Beth! Get this thing in the air!"

"Yes sir!" Beth ran to the cockpit, but tripped on her way there.

"40 seconds to self destruct."

Justin groaned. "Someone _competent_ get this ship in the air!" HK-47 hurried to the cockpit.

"Statement: We are rising, Jaise porkbag."

"Twenty seconds to self destruct."

Beth sat in the co-pilot's seat as the ship flew out of the hangar. "Who's ready for a cool escape?"

"Ten seconds to self destruct."

The Ebon Hawk flew out of the hangar. A few seconds after they left Goto's ship exploded.

_Back on Nar Shadaa..._

"Well, we managed to blow up a ship right after Goto told us that destruction and mayhem follow us wherever we go. I say that's a good day's work."

The crew of the Ebon Hawk was sitting in the red-haired girl's apartment, who's name turned out to be Mira. The exiles considered it to be an unwinding of a hard day's work. But there was business yet to be done.

Zez Kei El walked in. "So, how'd the meeting on Goto's yacht go?" he asked.

"Pretty good," Justin answered, leaning back in his chair.

The old master grinned. "Yes, Mira told me about how you'd been captured. I have to say, I was a bit worried."

"Never fear, Beth is here!" Beth lifted her arm in triumph. "Woot!"

"Beth, you still haven't taken off the bandages," Justin told her.

"Ah, I will later."

Zez sat down in one of the spare seats. "So, I understand you went through a lot of grief to find me. What can I help you with?"

Brennen yawned lazily. "We need you to go to Dantooine and wait there with Vrook while we find the rest of the Jedi masters. The Sith have revealed themselves."

"Really? Hmm..." Zez thought for a moment. "Well, I suppose I can–"

"Oh my God! Guys!" Beth suddenly sat up, eyes wide. "I just realized it! Zez-ty. Like Zesty! It's perfect!" She sat back again, grinning.

The others looked at her for a moment. The Zez shook his head. "Anyway, I will wait on Dantooine with Vrook. I will see you again when all the masters have been found." He stood up and left.

"So what now?" Johnny asked.

"Are you gonna ask that after every planet?" Justin asked.

"Probably."

Justin stood, stretching. "Well, I guess we should get back to the ship and–"

"Wait," Mira said. She had stood up too.

"Yes?"

"I want to come with you."

Justin shrugged. "Ok. If you want to. Now come on!" He paused. "Uh, MOVE OUT!!" He led them back to the Ebon Hawk.

_On the ship..._

"All right Atton," Justin said. "Take us to Korriban. We got a Sith world out there with our name on it!"

"You guys are insane," Atton muttered, punching in the co-ordinates.

End Of Chapter 5


	6. Chapter 6

Knights Of The Old Republic Chapter 6– A Week To Korriban, Three Days To Hoth

_Day One..._

"So how long is the flight to Korriban? Three days?" Johnny asked.

"Worse. A week," Justin answered grimly.

"Ahhh!"

The two were sitting in the main hold, drinking the Star Wars equivalent of pop. Someone–Justin suspected Beth–had bought a large amount of alcohol while they were still on Nar Shadaa. They planned on a huge drinking binge tonight. And the next day. After that, a beer run. And then more binge drinking. Then, if they made it to Korriban alive, they'd find Vash and tell her to go to Dantooine.

Then another beer run.

There was a crash in medbay. Justin and Johnny looked up in confusion. "I thought Beth and Mical were taking a break on the whole Force chair thing," Johnny said.

"Last I heard they were playing Tatooine Hold 'Em. Oh..." Justin shook his head.

"What?"

"Beth cheats."

"Ah. Right."

They continued drinking their pops. The sounds coming from medbay became louder and more frequent. Then they suddenly stopped. Justin and Johnny turned to look towards the room. The exiles decided to check it out.

They found Beth and Mical sitting calmly in the middle of destroyed equipment, playing cards. Beth had a split lip and Mical was bleeding from a cut on his forehead, but neither seemed to have noticed

Johnny and Justin went back to their seats, bored.

Brennen and Brianna were busy taking stock of the alcohol. Ya, enough for a couple nights, but no more then that.

Brennen lifted up a bottle. "Darth Revan," he read out. "What's this, the Star Wars version of Jack Daniels?"

"What?" Brianna asked.

"Uh, nothing." He put the bottle down. "Are you much of a drinker?"

"I don't drink."

"Aw, come on! You don't have to get _really_ plastered!" Though you should. "Just a couple drinks."

"We'll see."

"Hey Johnny," Justin said suddenly. "Shouldn't you be training Bao-Dur or something?"

"Nah, he's doing fine on his own."

"Oh. Ok." He took another sip of his pop, then slammed it down. "This is lame! Let's drink now!"

Suddenly Beth was at his side. "Did I hear drink?" she asked.

"Where did you come from?"

"A good question, one that man has asked for many–"

"Ya ya, Beth, the whole centuries thing. Anyway, you wanna start drinking now?"

"Sure." She raised her voice. "Guys! We're getting DRUNK!"

_Two hours later..._

" ...And yet, a rose by any other name would smell just as sweet," Justin quoted. Brianna, Mira and Visas normally wouldn't have been at all interested at what he was saying, but in their drunken states they were amazed.

Brennen pushed Beth. "You think you're all that, but you're not!" he roared.

Beth finished her beer then smashed the end off the bottle. "You wanna go shitbag? I'm Irish!" She stabbed at him with the jagged edge of the bottle. He grabbed her wrists and it became a pushing match.

Johnny staggered over to Bao-Dur. "You know, I knew you'd be a great Jedi! It was, like, destiny! Just like Darth Maul!"

"Who the Hell's Darth Maul anyway?" Bao asked. Bao wasn't as drunk as the rest of them, but he was getting there.

"He's, like, this Zabrak guy who's, like, black and red." Johnny and Bao started laughing.

Brennen threw Beth across the table, and she slid next to Justin, who laughed at her. "Hey Jaise!" She hiccuped. "Have you seen my beer?" Without waiting for an answer she rolled off the table and onto the floor.

Atton flopped down next to Mical, who had either passed out or died. "Hey." He poked him in the side. "Hey wake up you..." He ended the sentence with a slew of incoherent babble, then leaped up for another drink.

Brennen tripped over Mical's prone body and cursed. He staggered over to Kreia, who was the only sober one. "Hey, you old craggy bitch, want a beer?" He held out the bottle.

She sneered at him. "I am not as childish as the rest of you," she said coldly. "I will restrain myself from such foolish things."

Brennen had walked away before she'd finished talking.

"To be or not to be, that is the question–Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer, the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, or to take arms against a sea of troubles, and by opposing end them?"Justin quoted again. Mira sighed, infatuated.

"Hey Bao!" Johnny threw the Zabrak a bottle of ranch. "Five credits you chug it!"

"We drink and drink and drink and drink and drink and drink and fight!!" Beth sang, grabbing another beer.

"Hey HK, what would you do if I told you I ate your mother?" Brennen asked the droid.

"Statement: Oh be quiet you incessant meatbag."

"Hey!" Beth kicked Mical in the side. "Wake up Necro! There is beer to be drunk!" He grunted, but slept on.

Atton staggered over to Bao-Dur, who had drank the whole bottle of ranch and was throwing up on the floor. Johnny was standing next to him, laughing. "Dude, that was so worth it!"

Kreia shook her head and walked away. They'd regret it in the morning.

_In the morning..._

"Good thing we found the cure for the hangover," Justin commented.

"We may party without fear!" Beth announced. "Although I still don't know how that beer bottle got stuck in my arm."

"Why does my side hurt so much?" Mical muttered. "Like someone kept hitting me or something."

"Why do I taste ranch?" Bao-Dur wondered.

"I keep hearing "to be or not to be" in my head," Brianna said.

None of them really remembered the night before. A few flashes, nothing more. All were still planning on drinking the rest of the beer that night. Even Kreia seemed to be considering it.

_That night..._

"...The wise the young, they say do never live long." Justin was once again quoting Shakespeare. And once again Brianna, Visas and Mira were enamored.

"Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind," Justin said, winking at Brianna. Brennen noticed and fumed.

"Hey Necro," Beth said thickly, pretty drunk. "Think I can drink all this?"

"Beth," Mical laughed. "That's a flashlight."

That didn't stop her trying, however.

"We that are true lovers run into strange capers, but as all is mortal in nature, so is all nature in love mortal in folly," Justin recited. The three girls sighed.

"So..." Justin leaned forward and whispered in the women's ears. They grinned and nodded.

Kreia had had a few beers, and was good and drunk. And when an old lady's drunk, trouble is sure to follow.

As Justin walked off to the cargo hold with his arms around the three women, Kreia staggered over to Brennen, who had been watching Beth and Mical fight like the Irish. Which meant a broken bottle in each hand. Kreia threw an arm around Brennen's shoulders.

"Hey Big Boy," she said, her words a bit slurred. "How 'bout you and me–" She whispered in his ear.

Brennen's expression went from revulsion to horror. "God no!! I'm not nearly drunk enough for that!" He pushed Kreia away and grabbed another beer.

Beth grabbed Mical by the throat, and wrestled him against the wall. He stabbed at her with his bottle, but being drunk his aim was terrible and he missed. He pushed her away. The fight only lasted for a few more minutes before Beth stumbled and fell. Mical tripped over her and fell face first on the ground. Both remained where they'd fallen, asleep.

Kreia waddled over to Atton, who was sobbing uncontrollably on Bao-Dur's shoulder. About what, no one knew, not even Atton. Bao didn't even seemed to have noticed Atton and was calmly drinking a Vader 151, the Star Wars version of Bacardi 151. Truthfully, drinking it straight from the bottle, it should've killed him. No one was sure why it didn't.

Kreia collapsed into a chair and passed out. Johnny staggered over to Brennen. "How ya doin' there buddy?" he asked.

"Ahhh, do you think I'll ever get a girl?" Brennen asked Johnny miserably.

"Aw man, of course! You're a good guy!" Johnny patted him on the back. "You know what? One day, you're gonna find a good woman who'll love you, and scrub the floors of your ship! Wait, one sec..." He turned his head and belched loudly. "Anyway, she'll be all nice and stuff, and, and..." He trailed off. He seemed to have forgotten what he was talking about.

The night was winding down. Most had either passed out or gone to bed. Bao-Dur, after carrying a crying Atton into the garage, went to sleep, telling Remote to keep an eye on Atton so he didn't try to pilot the ship.

Brennen flopped down on the table in the main hold, and was asleep immediately. Johnny passed out next to him.

All in all, a weird night. But the next day would be weirder.

_The next day..._

Brennen woke blearily. Man, did his head hurt. He sat up, then stared horrified at Johnny, who was lying next to him. "Oh God, please tell me we didn't do it," he gulped.

Johnny sat up. "No," he muttered, rubbing his head. "I purposely passed out next to you so in the morning you'd freak out." He grinned at him.

"You ass." Brennen went to step off the table, but his feet did not hit solid ground.

"Hey!" Brennen looked down. He'd stepped on Beth. "Get off me you freak!"

"Sorry." Brennen slid down the table and got off a few feet away. Beth stood slowly.

"Oh! Head rush!" She closed her eyes. Mical got up next to her.

"Did we pass out on the floor?" Mical asked, looking a bit embarrassed.

"Necro, no time for questions. Get rid of my hangover."

Mical rolled his eyes. "Maybe if you stopped calling me Necro..."

"Nope. I will stop calling you corpse raper, though."

"You only called me that once!"

"And I can change that! Now heal me!"

Mical Force healed all four of them at once. Feeling better, they began talking about the night before. Well, what they remembered anyway. Which wasn't much.

"Hey, where's Jaise?" Brennen asked suddenly. Beth, Johnny and Mical had seen him walking off with the three girls and had a pretty good idea of where Justin had gone. And they didn't think Brennen should know.

"Uh, probably still sleeping!" Johnny said. "Wouldn't want to have to wake him, now maybe we should–"

"Hey, we're awake, he should be too!" Brennen went marching off to the cargo hold. The other three gulped, and looked at each other uneasily.

_Man, it's like they don't want me to see Justin or something_. Brennen thought. He stood outside the cargo hold. Weird, the door was closed. He didn't know the cargo hold had a door. He pressed a button to open the door, and was startled at the sight within.

Mira, Brianna and Visas were all in one bed. With Justin, who had his arms behind his head, still sleeping, with a huge toothy grin plastered across his face.

"Man, that's one Hell of a smile," Beth commented, looking past Brennen.

Brennen stared at her. "Beth, your brother's in bed with three women!" he exclaimed.

"Ya, but I didn't know you could smile like that in your sleep. He must be really satisfied."

"But–But–" Brennen was speechless. "_I _liked Brianna! I would've been a good boyfriend! And then Justin comes along with his damn Shakespeare and–"

"They _were_ drunk," Beth felt obligated to point out.

"But–But–It's not fair!" Brennen punched the doorframe. "He knows I like her! He _knows_! Why did he have to–"

"Statement: He is one happy porkbag. Look at that smile!"

Brennen let out an aggravated sigh. "You too?! What is so amazing about a smile when Jaise just had a foursome!"

Beth and HK looked at each other, then Beth said "Uh...The size of the smile?"

Brennen rolled his eyes. "Useless!" He stalked off.

Beth closed the door to the cargo hold and she and HK-47 walked off.

Johnny and Mical were laughing about the events of the night when Brennen dropped morosely into a chair. The two paused.

"How is it possible," Brennen said slowly, "That Jaise gets three hot chicks and I get this old bag!" He nudged a still sleeping Kreia with his foot.

"You did Kreia?" Johnny asked incredulously.

"No," Brennen snapped. "But she asked."

"Ew," Mical said.

Brennen continued to looked miserable, but finally Johnny snapped.

"Oh come on Brennen, quit acting like you're the only one who didn't get laid! Besides Justin, well, and the three girls, everyone just passed out."

"That's not what it bothers me!" Brennen yelled. "I thought Brianna liked me, and then she goes and fucks Justin! It's not fair!"

"Wow. Awkward." The three turned to see Justin standing behind them.

Brennen leaped up. "You son of a–!"

"Shit!" Brennen punched at him. Justin ducked under it.

"You bastard! 'I just wanted to show her how to use the Force Brezu'! Well you showed her a lot more then that didn't you!" He swung at him again clumsily. Justin merely stepped back to avoid it.

It was lucky Brennen had put it lightsaber down the night before, or things could've gone really bad. As it was, Brennen wasn't much of a fistfighter. Justin simply dodged his attacks, saying nothing in retaliation to Brennen's accusations. The rest of the crew, interested in finding out what all the commotion was about, was drawn to the fight. In fact, Brennen and Justin had attracted quite a crowd by the time Brianna finally stepped in.

"Brezu! What are you doing?"

Brennen stopped, panting. "I guess you could say I'm fighting for you." He went to punch Justin in the face, but Justin caught his fist and tightened his grip. Brennen shouted, crumpling to his knees. Brianna dropped down next to him as Justin released the grip.

"Brezu, I do like you!"

Brennen rubbed his knuckles angrily. "Then why did you screw him!"

"Well..." She seemed confused by the question. "He asked."

"Excuse me? He _asked_?" Brennen couldn't believe this. "And what if I asked, right now?"

She considered. "Nope. Sorry. Too late. I'm already pretty satisfied."

Brennen groaned, but thought of something. "Will you still be my girlfriend?" he asked hopefully.

She rolled her eyes, smiling. "Will it make you happy?"

"Yes."

"Then all right."

"Awww!" Everyone turned to Beth. "How adorable!" She snorted. Evidently she found the whole ordeal ridiculous. "Well Prince Charming? Are you gonna kiss her or what?"

Brennen sneered at her, then just to spite her he did.

Beth clapped slowly, smiling. "Congrats. You found love. And just think of it: If it weren't for Jaise fucking your girlfriend, this wouldn't have happened."

"And I'd do it again," Justin stated, winking at Brennen.

"Geez." Beth made a show of wiping her eyes and sniffling. "All this holly jolliness is getting me all teary-eyed."

"Beth, what is the matter with you?" Brennen asked. "Are you jealous or something?"

"Nah. I got plenty. An apprentice, and an assassin droid. All you got is a girlfriend."

"Ah, you're just jealous."

"Oh ya? Fine. You want to make this a romance story?" She turned and kissed Mical.

"Whoa," Mical said quietly. "Unexpected."

"Well, if everyone else is doing it!"Justin grabbed Mira and started making out with her.

Everyone stared. "Awkward," Beth said softly.

"Get a room!" Johnny said. "I didn't expect a big make-out scene!"

Beth and Mical grabbed a blanket and threw it over Justin and Mira. "There," Beth said, grinning. "Now we can't see them."

"We can hear them though," Johnny pointed out.

"Not really."

"You can not!" Justin called out from under the blanket.

They laughed. Except McBitchy. Big surprise.

"How come everyone gets someone except me?" Johnny complained.

Brennen smirked, and pointed at Visas. Johnny considered for a minute, then blinked and looked away.

The crowd began to disperse, going back to their original duties. Beth and Mical were yelling at Atton to stop at the next planet for a beer run. Justin threw off the blanket covering him and Mira. He smirked at Johnny, who seemed to be deep in thought. Visas, uncomfortable with Brennen's quiet suggestion, went back to her room. Brennen and Brianna began cleaning up the empties lying all around the ship.

"The planet closest to us is Hoth," Atton told Beth and Mical. The three were in the cockpit.

"What's that?" Mical asked.

"It's an ice world. Completely frozen. Pretty much devoid of life."

"Aren't there Wampas and Tauntauns?" Beth asked.

"Well, yeah, but no civilization. We may as well skip it and grab more beer on the next planet."

"No," Beth said. "We land on Hoth."

"But–"

"No! We land on Hoth!"

"All right all right," Atton muttered. "We land on Hoth."

Beth and Mical walked out to the main hold, where Justin and Mira were talking. Apparently Justin was aiming to freak her out.

"Hi, I'm Wilford Brimly and I have Dia-beetis," Justin said.

Beth rolled her eyes, sitting next to them. "Oh shut up Jaise."

Justin leaped up. "Do not question me!" he roared. "I am NEPTUNE!!GOD OF THE SEA!!"

Beth jumped up too. "AND I AM ARES!! GOD OF WAR AND RANDOM KILLING!!"

The two stood face to face, glaring at each other. Then abruptly they turned away from each other. Justin sat down again, and Beth walked off to medbay, thinking of sleeping a bit more before they reached Hoth.

Mical followed her, a bit uncomfortable. "Uh...Beth?" he asked as she lay down on the bed.

"What? I thought it was my turn for the bed."

"No, it's not that. You know, what happened out there..." He nodded out the door. "Does that mean we're...you know..."

"I don't know." She yawned and stretched. "Do you wanna be?"

He considered. "Ah, why not."

"Good. Now can I sleep? I don't care how close we are, I'm tired." And with that she went to sleep.

Beth was riding a swoop, speeding along a trail between two mountains. She led a group of twenty others, all riding swoops. They were raiding a nearby Mandalorian camp, weakening them before the true battle, as was their custom.

The camp was in sight. As one, the group stood up on their swoops. Beth ignited her two lightsabers as her men whipped out swords. Beth grinned. These were the good times. Speeding into battle on a swoop. Kicking some Mandalorian ass.

The Mandalorians had spotted them. Beth heard officers yelling for the men to form a line. Beth sped up, and her troops followed her example. This was the hardest part of the fight.

There was a moment before the swoops met the enemy line when it seemed everything was silent. Everything was still. Then BOOM! Metal met armor, and all was noise, all was motion. Their were screams, orders, the sound of sword hitting sword.

Her group zipped through the camp, slashing at any who came near, Beth in the lead. They reached the other side of the camp and the swoop riders turned sharply around. Beth whistled loudly, and all leaped off their crafts, which flew into the enemy soldiers who were trying to form a line again.

Beth wasted no time. She and her twenty soldiers raced forward, attacking the confused and disorganized group. Many were killed while they still trying to figure out what had happened. Some had dropped there weapons as Beth's platoon had tore through their ranks. Then, before they knew it, a small group of men with a Jedi leading them was on them. The Mandalorians could beat them. There weren't enough attackers to beat the whole camp. And they would've slaughtered the Jedi's group, but only a few minutes after the initial attack the Mandalorians heard roaring behind them. They turned to see a huge army coming towards them. They were unsure what to do: face the army, or face the first group. Confused, many were killed while they were still standing there, dumbfounded. Then the army hit them.

The Mandalorians were like pigs to the slaughter. Beth laughed, spinning her lightsabers like a fan on either side of her. Suddenly Justin was there next to her. He was grinning too.

"Nicely done Beth," he congratulated, stabbing a Mandalorian in the chest.

"Thanks," Beth said. She screamed, and all the men around her were thrown back. "Just doing my job."

Abruptly Beth woke. She sat up straight. She could feel her heart pumping fast with adrenaline from the battle...but that was just a dream. Wasn't it?

_Was that a memory? _She thought. It was kinda creepy to tell the truth. She remembered what Justin had been talking about, that they really had a history here, and that they were no longer who they'd been before.

She yawned. How long had she been out? She got up, thinking of going to the cockpit. If they were near Hoth, then she was the one who was going to inform everyone, not Atton.

Justin grinned at Mira, still in the main hold. "So, will you go out with NEPTUNE, GOD OF THE SEA?!"

Mira rolled her eyes. "Why not? It seems to be a trend right now." She glanced up at Beth, who was passing. "Your friend's in the garage talking to Bao, if you care." Beth paused, but continued on to the cockpit.

"Yes, but I am NEPTUNE, GOD OF THE SEA!!"

"Well, Neptune, God of the sea–"

"No no no, it's NEPTUNE, GOD OF THE SEA!!"

"Oh get over yourself."

Brennen and Brianna were throwing out the empties. They were trying to keep things comfortable, but that wasn't easy when Johnny was listing off the reasons why he didn't want to date Visas.

"I mean, she's nice and all, but–"

"Johnny, you've said that already. Three times." Brennen walked up to him. "How 'bout, you know, getting out, so I can enjoy some time with Brianna, huh buddy?" he whispered.

"All right. You owe me," he added on his way out.

Brennen frowned. "Owe him?" he muttered. He shook his head. "Anyway, at least we don't have Johnny complaining anymore. So, you wanna..." He raised his eyebrows.

"Have a sandwich? Sure."

"All right. Let's go!" The two walked off to the storage compartment.

"So, who's Wilford Brimly?" Mira asked.

"You don't know Wilford Brimly?" Justin said, amazed. "He's the dia-beetis spokesperson!"

"And what's dia-beetis?"

But before Justin could explain the exact physics of dia-beetis, Beth was speaking on the comm. "Hello everyone! This is Beth, your captain. We are nearing the frozen world of Hoth, where there is very little life, because few things can survive the harsh cold. Anyway, we will be landing in five minutes. This is Beth, signing out."

Justin was a bit worried. "Did she just say Hoth?" he asked Mira.

"Ya...Why are we going there? I thought we were going on a beer run. There's no life on Hoth, we won't find any booze there."

The ship landed. Beth immediately headed for the exit ramp, but Justin stopped her.

"Uh, Beth? What are we doing on Hoth? There won't be any life here till the rebel alliance, and that's about four thousand years from now. And even that doesn't last long."

"There are Wampas and Tauntauns."

"Ya well, Wampas and Tauntauns can't make booze. Why bother coming here?"

"I don't know. Wampa burger?" She made her way down the exit ramp. The crew looked at each other uneasily.

"Isn't it freezing out there?" Johnny asked.

"Yep," Justin answered. "Come on guys, we may as follow her, if for no other reason but to keep her from getting lost."

"And we're going to stop that how?" Brennen asked.

"I don't know. Let's just go."

"Well, if you're going, I'm going with you!" Mira said fiercely.

Justin smirked. "Well, if you freeze, that's your fault." He looked at the rest of the crew. "Anyone else coming?"

"Me," Brianna said.

"And me," Mical said.

"Answer: I will follow my masters wherever they go," HK told him.

"All right," Justin said. He grinned. "Men, let's MOVE OUT!!" He led the group onto Hoth.

Beth was waiting for them outside. It was surprisingly clear, but Justin had watched enough of The Empire Strikes Back to know it wouldn't be like this for long.

"Took you guys long enough," Beth said. "What, you stop for a sandwich or something?"

"Nah, just considering the fact that seven people and one droid are going onto a frozen planet with nothing but robes and lightsabers."

Beth shrugged. "Now are we gonna check this place out or what?"

"All right," Justin said. "But let's not wander too far from the ship ok?"

_One hour later..._

"I thought I said we weren't going to wander far from the ship!"

It turned out by the time they'd landed on Hoth it was only about half an hour away from sunset. The eight of them were forced to take shelter in a cave, which they suspected was inhabited by a Wampa.

"Man, it's fucking freezing!" Johnny growled, huddled up and shivering.

"Looks like we may have to huddle together for warmth," Justin said. "Ladies?" He winked at Brianna and Mira.

"Damn it Jaise, this isn't the time to joke around!" Johnny snapped.

"Who's joking?"

"Personally, I blame Beth." Johnny glared at her.

"Hey fuck you Lorenti," Beth snarled. "I wasn't the one going 'One more dune guys, come on just one more!'"

"Guys, this isn't the time for arguing!" Brennen yelled. "This isn't even the dead of night, we're going to freeze to death by morning if we don't think of something!"

"I'm all for the huddling idea," Justin commented.

"Jaise, shut up!" Brennen snapped.

Beth stood. "Well, if there's a wampa in this cave, then we could kill it and–"

"If you say sleep in it's innards, I'm going to freak," Mira told her.

"Ok," Beth said slowly. "Then we could set it on fire. That would keep us warm."

"What if there is no wampa in this cave?"

"Then we freeze to death."

Brianna looked a bit nervous. "I'm not going to search this cave for a giant monster!"

Beth rolled her eyes. "Fine. I'll go alone." She turned to leave.

"Wait!" Mical stood. "I'm going too."

"Statement: I am going too," HK said, walking up to them.

"Anyone else want to risk their lives?" Beth asked. She looked about the cave. No one met her eyes. "All right Mical. And HK. Let's go find our wampa."

The three walked off. The cave was completely frozen, with stalactites of ice hanging from the ceiling. It was getting colder, so the three tried to hurry. Beth was worried there really wouldn't be a wampa in there, but then she heard a distant roar.

All of them froze. Beth and Mical glanced at each other. "You sure this is our only choice?" Mical asked.

"Yep."

"Mockery: Perhaps Master Mical would rather going back to freeze to death with all the other cowards?"

"Oh shut it HK," Beth said. "Look Mical, we–"

"Wait, did you just call me Mical?" He seemed amazed. "What happened to Necro?"

"I have no idea. I suddenly had no temptation to call you Necro. Anyway, we have no choice. It's either this, or we freeze."

"All right." Mical sighed. "But I know I'm gonna regret this."

The three continued forward, but more slowly. Suddenly there was a ground-shaking roar. They heard a crackling noise. The three looked up slowly. A stalactite fell towards them.

Cursing, they leaped to side. It smashed on the ground, and ice shards flew everywhere. A piece hit HK in the back.

"Aaaahhhh..." HK trailed off. He toppled over.

"Aw shit." Beth rolled HK over to look at the ice shard. "That wampa better not have killed my pet assassin droid! I already lost Roger, I'm not losing H too!"

"Come on Beth," Mical said, tugging at her sleeve. "We got a wampa to kill. We can't help H here."

"Why so eager all of a sudden?"

"Hey, H was my droid too!"

The two stood. The wampa roared again, and the floor shook under them. The two flattened themselves against the wall. They looked at each other nervously, then Beth peeked around the corner.

"Well?" Mical whispered.

She whipped her head back. "Wampa green," she muttered.

"What?" He shook his head. "No Beth, wampa white."

"No!" she hissed. "Wampa green!"

"All right, wampa green."

She looked again. The wampa was actually white, sitting with it's back to them. It was eating something, Beth was pretty sure it was a tauntaun. Occasionally it roared, for what reason Beth wasn't sure. Probably it's own amusement.

She turned back to Mical. "If we're quiet," she whispered. "I think we can take him by surprise." Her foot slipped, and she kicked an ice shard.

It rattled down the hallway, knocking against the walls. The two held their breath. It seemed too loud.

Finally the shard stopped. For a few moments everything was still. Beth prayed the wampa hadn't heard. Her prayers were unheard. There was a deafening howl from the cave.

"Ah shit," Beth sighed. There was no point in hiding anymore. They stepped out into the open and stood in the cave opening. The wampa stood on it's back legs, twice as tall as either of them. The fur under and around it's mouth was stained red with blood.

"This is gonna get bad before it gets worse," Beth said worriedly.

Mical paused, then looked at her. "What?"

She thought for a moment, opened her mouth, thought again, then said "Shut up."

The wampa bellowed. Beth and Mical ignited their lightsabers. "I'll go to the left, you go right," Beth ordered, the old war general alive in her. She sped to one side, Mical to the right. The wampa looked from one to another, then swiped it's claws at Mical. He skidded to a stop, but not fast enough. It's claws ripped across his chest, and he was thrown back.

Beth tried to slide to a stop, to run back, but hit a slippery patch on the ice. She slipped, slammed on the ground, and slid for a few meters before hitting a mound of snow. She tried to leap up, but apparently snow was not her good element. She spent a few moments struggling to stand, then finally threw one of her lightsabers. The wampa, stomping towards Mical, the smell of blood strong in it's nostrils, suddenly roared, clawing at it's back where the saber had imbedded itself. Beth rolled out of the snow and Force jumped over the wampa and landed on the other side. However ice is not easy to land on. As soon as her feet hit the ground they slid out from underneath her and she fell.

"Ah Hell!" She dragged herself over to Mical. She moved to a kneeling position, inspecting Mical's wounds. The front of his robes were ripped, and he was bleeding from three long gashes across his chest. Beth growled in frustration.

"Beth?" he said softly.

"Ya buddy. You all right?" She looked up at the wampa, who was still struggling to rip out the lightsaber. It seemed to be at a spot he couldn't reach.

Mical sucked in a raspy breath, then started shivering. "Damn it Mical," Beth whispered. "I don't know Force heal!"

The wampa roared again. Beth glanced up at it, then looked back. She bit her lip, then put out her hands. "Well, no time like the present to learn," she muttered. Her brow furrowed in concentration. _Now how would I do this?_ She wondered.

The wampa abandoned it's attempts at getting the lightsaber out. It turned eyes full of hatred and pain to the two Jedi. It bellowed out in agony, and charged at them.

Beth looked up at the roar. She swore and stood to face the wampa. He swiped a paw at her. She leaped over it, but he swung it back and she was smashed to the side by the back of it's paw.

She slammed into the wall, and fell to the ground. "That hurt more then the wookiee," she growled. She forced herself up. She lifted her lightsaber with both hands. It seemed much heavier then usual. She also had a burning pain in her side. She suspected a broken rib.

The wampa had turned back to attack Mical. Beth grabbed a chunk of ice off the ground and threw it at the wampa's head. "Hey come on you furry piece of shit! Take on someone your own size for once!"

The wampa barely felt the ice, but heard the yell. He turned, searching for the source of the noise.

Beth sucked in a breath to Force scream, but the pain in her side intensified insanely. She coughed violently, and fell to her knees. The wampa caught sight of her and rushed at her. Beth threw herself to one side, rolling ungracefully on the ground. The wampa was beating the ground in front of him, still thinking she was there. Beth, holding her side, ran and skidded over the ice, trying once again to reach Mical.

She looked over at the wampa. It seemed to be wondering where she'd gone. She put out her hands again, trying to heal Mical. But she was still unsure what to do. Mical had taught himself, so she should be able to too.

The wampa roared, looking around the cave for Beth. She grunted in frustration. She looked over at the wampa. It was turning again. "Son of a bitch! I just need a minute!" She looked up at the ceiling. There were a bunch of giant ice stalactites hanging from the roof, just over the wampa.

Beth found she no longer cared if they killed the wampa. At least it wasn't her top priority at the moment. She was fully ready to admit that taking on a wampa was a stupid idea. She held her last lightsaber behind her for a moment, then threw it at the stalactites. It slammed up to the hilt in one of the bigger ones. It melted away at the base of the ice, then it fell away.

Beth watched the icicle fall towards the wampa. It looked up just in time to see the giant piece of ice smash it in the face. It fell immediately. Beth didn't bother to check to see if it was still alive or not. She turned back to her friend.

"Fuck! I should be able to do this!" she snapped. Suddenly her hands began to glow with a bluish hue. The gashes closed slowly, sealing themselves. Mical began to breathe normally again. Beth sighed in relief. He opened his eyes.

"Aw shit, Beth, what happened?" He sat up slowly. "Is the wampa dead?"

"I think–" There was a roar. Beth spun. The wampa was standing again, swinging his hands about crazily. His face was bloody and deformed from the giant icicle, and his bellows were more scream then anything else. He shrieked a second time, and Beth felt her blood run cold.

"Aw come on!" Beth shouted. "Just die already!" She reached for her lightsaber, but neither were there. It was then she pictured her throwing away both: one in the wampa's back, the other in the ceiling.

Mical leaped up. He still had his weapon. "Is it my turn yet?" he asked Beth wickedly.

"I don't–" Her side burned. She swallowed a cry. "Maybe you should," she decided, gritting her teeth. She clutched her side.

"Here." He put a hand on her ribs, and used Force heal. Then he turned back to the wampa. "Get back your lightsabers. I'll distract him." Without even waiting for her response he Force jumped at the wampa, which was pretty brave seeing as it was screaming and swinging his paws like a rabid animal.

He ignited the saber while still in the air. He landed just out the wampa's reach. The wampa must have heard him, for it turned toward him. It's eyes were a bloody mess from the icicle. "Which means he's blind," Mical said quietly to himself. "That's an advantage at least." The wampa pounced at him, screaming. He leaped back, and the wampa fell forward on his chin. It wasn't very graceful when it couldn't see.

The wampa pushed itself up slowly. Suddenly Beth was flying over Mical's head onto the wampa's back. It screamed, clawing at her. She grabbed her saber and leaped next to Mical. She spun in the air to face the creature. She ignited her two lightsabers. "Ready?" she asked him.

"I'm ready," he answered. They flung themselves forward, Beth spinning her lightsabers around like a fan, and Mical pulling back his arm for a swing. However, the wampa got up faster then they'd bargained for. It started slashing around blindly. They leapt to either side.

"Damn, this bastard just refuses to die," Beth laughed shakily.

"Do we have a plan B?" Mical asked, grinning.

"Nope. Let's rush him again." It was a stupid idea, but they did it anyway. Mical leaped through the air, slashing at the wampa's head. Beth zipped in low, under it's arms, and cut at the beast's legs. The wampa, unable to see either threat, was unable to defend. However, Beth reached her target first, and cut off the creature's right leg. It toppled over, and Mical missed his shot. He landed on the wampa's chest as it slammed down on it's back.

"Piss!" He tried to run, and the wampa smashed him in the back with a paw, speeding his escape. He slammed on the ground, rolling over and over. Beth was about to go to him but the wampa was somehow lugging itself up again. It stood, leaning on the wall, slashing at her weakly with a paw. She backed away. The wampa tried to step forward and fell again. He lay on his stomach, growling quietly. Beth was sure she'd never see a more pathetic sight.

"Beth!" She turned to Mical, who had stood again. He looked at her. "Kill it!"

Beth stared at him, then looked intently at the wampa. It wasn't bleeding from it's stump of a leg; the lightsaber had cauterized the end. She had been ready to kill the creature a moment ago. Now she found she was simply unable to do it. She stepped back.

"What are you doing?" Mical called, walking over to her.

"Fuck. I can't."

"What do you mean?"

"I can't." She stared at the pitiful creature. It wasn't attacking anymore. It wasn't even trying to stand. It was almost like it knew it was screwed. "I always found it hard to kill animals. It seems old habits die hard." She turned off her lightsabers.

Mical sighed, standing next to her. Beth glanced at him. "Can you kill it?" she asked.

"I don't know." He gazed at the wampa. It lay groaning quietly. Suddenly they heard a small cy. But it didn't come from the wampa.

The two looked towards the back of the cave. The wampa roared at them, and suddenly slid itself across the ice towards them.

Beth and Mical leaped over it, landing behind it. They spun, keeping an eye on the wampa that suddenly didn't seem so pitiful. "What the Hell was that about?" Mical said. "One second he's lying there motionless, the next he's attacking us again!"

"I have a suspicion. I don't think that's a he."

The wampa had managed to turn itself, or herself, around. She pulled herself forward slowly, swiping one paw at them. She was unable to pull herself very fast, but there was a desperate light in her eyes. Beth knew there was something up, and she had a pretty good idea what. She glanced over her shoulder. She saw it: at the back of the cave, there was a small tunnel. She made a few quick calculations, and wondered if she'd fit.

"Beth!" Mical called. She turned back, just in time to jump back a few feet and avoid the wampa's claws again. As though she'd sensed they were nearing the back of the cave, the wampa became enraged. She used both hands to pull herself towards them, and snapped at them with her jaws. They jumped to one side.

"Beth, we should just kill him!" Mical said.

"No, I think I have an idea as to why this bloody thing is so vicious," Beth started, but before she could go on the wampa screamed again. They turned to her. The wampa wasn't dragging itself towards them anymore. In fact, she hadn't even bother to turn towards them. She was just lying there, like before.

Beth and Mical glanced at each other. Why wasn't it doing anything? Beth walked up to it slowly, and poked the wampa in the side with her foot. She grunted, but did nothing else. Beth turned to look at Mical. "I don't know what this thing's problem is–" The wampa shrieked and swiped at her legs. She fell over. She tried to drag herself away, but the wampa bit down on her right leg.

Beth screamed. "Ah shit! Mic, get this thing off me!" She was panicky, picturing her leg getting ripped off.

Mical slashed off the wampa's head without hesitation. The jaw released her immediately, and she pulled herself away quickly. Her eyes were wide with shock.

"Damn tricky..." She shook her head. Her robes around her shin were torn and bloody. Mical healed it at once.

"You all right?" he asked, worried.

"Y-ya," she stuttered. The attack had left her a bit shaken. Mical patted her on the shoulder.

"Well, we killed the wampa. At least that's something."

"Ya, but now we gotta drag it back to the others." She shivered. In the battle it hadn't been cold. It had actually seemed very hot. She stood, and suddenly she heard the small cry again. The one she'd heard before.

The two turned to look at the wall. Then Beth remembered the tunnel. She searched along the wall with her eyes, then spotted it.

"Look!" She trotted over to it. Mical followed, teeth chattering. She kneeled down next to the hole. It was definitely too small for her. She looked up at Mical. "I think that sound came from in here."

He tapped the wall. "Hmmm...There's no stone here," he said, listening to the sound his tapping made. "It's just ice."

"What is it? A den of some kind?" She looked at the wall, jabbing it with her lightsaber. The wall was only about an inch think.

"I don't know." He glanced at her. "Do you know what's making that sound?" he asked.

"I have an idea." She pulled out the blade. "I think the wall is protection or something. God knows the wampa heard us when we came near her cave." She stopped for a moment to collect her thoughts. "This was probably made before we landed here. A just-in-case scenario." She looked at Mical. "I think she put her cub in there."

"Wait, you think this is a mother?" He looked over at the dead wampa.

"Ya. She put her cub in there for safekeeping after she heard us out there." She gestured at the cave opening. "Once she got rid of the threat, she could smash down the wall and get her cub out again."

"So we just killed a mother wampa?" Mical looked a bit worried. "What about her cub? I doubt it's old enough to survive on it's own."

Beth hesitated, then she cut a large opening in the ice wall. Her predictions were correct. Inside a small furry bundle crouched in the corner.

It let out a small raspy growl that was a mere whisper of what it would be one day. It would also scare away absolutely nothing. Beth walked up to it slowly, keeping in mind that even baby wampa claws were still claws. However, it didn't seem to be interested in attacking. It sniffed at her curiously as she knelt down next to it.

Mical edged closer. "Careful Beth," he advised. The cub looked at him, interested in the new sounds. "How old do you think it is?"

"I don't know. A few months, maybe." She stroked the side of it's face gently. The cub crooned quietly, and grappled her hand with it's small stubby claws.

Mical crouched down next to her. "I think it likes you," he commented, smirking. Beth snorted. For a moment they merely sat there. Then Mical said "Beth, we can't just leave him here."

"I know." She paused. She reached out slowly, and picked up the wampa. He didn't resist. She held him against the front of her shirt. "We're taking him with us."

Mical nodded solemnly. He understood. They killed the mother, they took the responsibility. He grinned suddenly. "Looks like we have a kid to raise," he joked.

She smiled, shaking her head. She hefted the wampa up as she straightened up. He cuddled closer. "Bloody thing's like a giant teddy bear," she muttered. Mical laughed. "Come on. I don't know what we're going to do about this dead wampa."

The two stood next to the mother wampa. Neither really felt right burning the corpse of their cub's mom, but what choice did they have?

"Beth, we're going to have to bring the others over here," Mical told her. "You can't drag it, you're carrying the little wampa, and I can't drag this big ass thing that far on my own."

"Plus we gotta get HK," Beth added grimly. They walked out of the wampa's cave. Mical tried to pick up HK-47, but the droid was too heavy. In the end he just dragged him. And thus they started their journey back to the others.

The two really felt the cold now. It didn't help that both had torn robes, but now that they were walking along with nothing else to focus their minds on, all they could feel was cold. Beth found herself envying the cub in her arms. All that warm fur...Beth and Mical ended up subconsciously walking closer together, just trying to keep warm.

They finally reached the cave where their friends were. Or had been. They frowned when they found no one. Mical sneezed.

"Shit Beth, we didn't go the wrong way did we?" he asked.

"Impossible," Beth said, shaking her head. "There was only one way from here to the wampa's cave."

"Then where are they?" He let go of the droid and wrapped his arms around himself, shivering. "What if they went off on their own? We _were_ gone for a while." He sneezed again.

"That would suck. What do we do then?"

Mical opened his mouth to answer but started coughing instead. Beth looked at him, concerned. "You all right buddy?"

He shook with cold. "I guess I'm not as impervious to the cold as you are," he said past chattering teeth. Beth gulped, a bit worried. Maybe she _was_ more resistant to the cold since she was Canadian. It seemed possible. In any case, it seemed she had more chance of surviving the night then Mical. He started coughing again, so violently his whole body shook. She put down the sleeping wampa and held him close, thinking, if nothing else, he might survive a bit longer if she kept him warm.

The whole "burn the wampa" idea was useless without the others. Beth and Mical had nothing to light the wampa with. It never occurred to them to sleep inside it's corpse. In fact, the dead wampa didn't enter their minds again that night. Mical did not want to go anywhere, but Beth had glanced around the caves and noticed that there were a number of passages leading deeper into the cave. She managed to convince her friend to further explore the cave. She lifted the cub wampa, and Mical grabbed HK by the arm, and they started down one of the passages.

_Before..._

Justin watched Beth, Mical and HK walk away uneasily, and a bit guiltily. _I should go with them. _He thought. _I should help them. _But the others needed him here. He needed to lead them, guide them. It was Beth's choice if she wanted to go hunt after wampas. He himself, however, couldn't help but wonder if he was just making up excuses for himself.

He sat down next to Mira. "You know, that whole huddling idea, it was only for the good of us all. I wasn't, you know, cheating on you." He grinned at her sheepishly.

"Oh shush." She shifted closer to him. "You can at least keep _me_ warm."

Brennen put his arm around Brianna's shoulders and pulled her close. "I won't let you freeze," he whispered in her ear.

"You're the one who said we'd freeze if we didn't do something," she said quietly, pressing close. He kissed the top of her head.

"Ya, but I'm Brezu Cheli, the great Jedi master. If Beth doesn't come through, I'll use my amazing powers to heat up this cave." He was just trying to make her laugh, keep her spirits up. It seemed to work, as she started to laugh.

"Then I guess I have nothing to worry about eh?"

Johnny was feeling pretty lonely, looking at everyone else. All had someone with them. Even Beth had a man willing to march off into the unknown with her. He looked at his friends sadly. He had a feeling none of them would live to see the morning.

A few minutes later they heard a loud roar. It was very distant, but they all had a good feeling as to what it was.

"So there is a wampa in this cave," Mira commented.

Johnny, who was standing nearest the tunnel Beth had disappeared into, was sure he heard the sound of falling ice in the distance too, but he wasn't sure.

For the next ten or twenty minutes there occasional roars and howls. However, they eventually stopped, and Beth, Mical and HK hadn't come back yet. Justin looked down the tunnel hopefully, but saw no one. Finally, he sighed regretfully and stood.

"We have to face facts," he told the others. "Those three are strong, powerful, but even they would have a hard time beating a wampa." He paused. "I don't think they did this time."

The others looked away. They all realized it as well. Justin continued. "We have to look to our own survival. We should go deeper into the caves. The closer we get to the planet's core, the warmer it'll be. I'd say that's our best chance of survival."

"But they could be hurt!" Brianna protested. "What if they're still alive, just unable to stand, or heal themselves?"

"Then we can't help them," Justin said firmly. "I know it seems cruel, but we can't go to our inevitable deaths in the hopes that they might be alive. Chances are, they died in the battle."

"Brezu!" Brianna said tearfully. "Say something!"

Brennen sighed. "Sorry Brianna, but Jaise is right." He closed his eyes. "We have to look to our own futures."

Brianna bowed her head. She knew he was right. Johnny shook his head. He knew why they were all so emotional, so solemn: all suspected this would be their last night together.

Justin led them down a tunnel. The others, as always, followed obediently, like sheep following a shepherd. Justin didn't expect it to get warm enough to suit their needs, but perhaps they'd get far enough that they could shelter under a pile of snow, just enough to survive...

The tunnel they'd chosen went pretty deep. Justin was a bit hopeful. He was worried about Mira though. The three exiles were from Canada, where it was cold, so they had built up a bit of a tolerance for it. Brianna was from the frozen part of Telos, so she was used to the cold too. Mira, however, was from a relatively warm planet. She was getting one Hell of a cold, and Justin worried about how she was reacting to it.

It was as they turned another corner that Justin suddenly realized it was getting really warm. Hot even. He glanced at the walls. They weren't frozen anymore, just bare rock. He frowned. _Am I imagining this or something? Or have I finally_ _cracked? _

However, it was neither. "Jesus it's hot," Brennen exclaimed. "Is there magma or something around here?"

They turned yet another corner, and here the tunnel ended in a small room. There were puddles of water from melted ice all around the room. They sat or lied down in the room, quite comfortable with the heat. Here they slept without fear of freezing.

However, Justin felt depressed. His sister was dead. Trying to save the rest of them. _I should have gone with her. _He thought. _Then she'd be here, making us laugh and keeping us up all night. _He leaned against the wall. _Bloody idiot. Why'd you have to go fight that wampa?_

Beth, of course, was not dead. But her troubles were nowhere near over.

She and Mical were not lucky like the others. The tunnel they went down got only slightly warmer, and not enough for them to even gain hope of surviving. And Mical was getting worse. He was coughing up strange greenish liquid that was laced with blood. He said it hurt to cough, and every time he breathed in through his mouth it made a eerie rasp that made the hair on the back of Beth's neck stand on end.

They finally found the end of the tunnel. Mical flopped down in the corner of the cave, shaking like crazy and coughing. Beth knelt next to him, placing the wampa cub on the ground.

"How are you feeling?" she asked softly.

He coughed again, then spat more of that green-red crap on the ground. "Terrible," he rasped. "My chest hurts." He leaned his head back. Beth put a hand on his forehead.

"Mic, you're burning up!" Beth began to panic. _What's wrong with you? _She knew she recognized these symptoms from somewhere...

She wrapped her arms around herself, and sat closer to him. She wondered briefly if Force heal would work, but she had forgotten how to do it. _I'm so useless._ She was scared to sleep, scared of hypothermia. And she was scared to stay awake. She didn't know what was wrong with her friend, but she was terrified he was going to die, and she didn't want to see it.

Mical was silent for a bit, neither speaking nor coughing. Then he sat up abruptly. Beth looked at him. He was still a moment, then jumped forward on his hands and knees and threw up on the ground. He was violently sick for a few moments, then flipped over to the side on his back, coughing.

Beth crawled over to him slowly. She was sure she knew what this was, if she could just remember...

"Gods!" Mical growled. "I feel terrible. I don't think I've felt worse then this in my life."

"Does it still hurt?" Beth asked him.

"When I cough, yes." Which he did promptly after. He flipped over again onto his stomach, spitting out more of the strange liquid. The wampa cub had woken from all the noise and trotted in front of Mical clumsily. He pushed himself up with his hands and glared at the wampa.

"And what do you want, you little runt!" he snarled.

"Calm down buddy," Beth said, patting him on the shoulder.

Mical snorted, then coughed again.

Mical lied down on his back. He looked exhausted. Beth watched him closely. She decided right then and there she was going to stay up all night, just to make sure he didn't die in his sleep. However, sleep was not destined for him this night.

The little wampa curled up next to him, and he fell asleep right away. But Mical immediately began to have problems.

"No!" he shouted suddenly. Beth, who'd been staring absently at the wall, looked at him. He clenched and unclenched his fists. "Piss off you bastard!" At first Beth thought he was having nightmares, but then she noticed his eyes were wide open and glaring.

She moved closer. Suddenly he sat up. "Son of a bitch!" He swiped at the air in front of himself. Then he blinked, confused.

"Mic?" He jumped, as though startled to see her there. "What's wrong?"

"I...I thought I..." He trailed off. He searched the cave with his eyes, then looked at her. "Did you see them?"

Beth glanced about. "See what?"

"The..." He stopped, thinking. Abruptly he started coughing.

Beth touched his forehead again. "You're still feverish, buddy. I think you're hallucinating a bit."

Mical shook his head, confused. He slid back to lean against the wall. The wampa followed him, climbing onto his lap and continuing his interrupted sleep. Mical was loath to try, however. He seemed to be scared of having more hallucinations, though staying awake probably wouldn't help.

Beth shifted slightly. Suddenly she noticed something. _Is it getting warmer? _She wondered.

She cocked her head slightly. "Mic, do you find it's getting warmer?" she asked. However, he had fallen asleep. Maybe she was just getting feverish too...

She fell asleep not long after that.

_The next morning..._

Justin woke abruptly. For a second he had no idea where he was. Then suddenly the past twenty-four hours hit him like a ton of bricks, and he sighed, feeling spent.

Standing, he called out "Come on guys, let's get going." The others came round slowly, groaning with stiffness from sleeping on a hard stone floor.

"We gotta get going. Let's go back to the top and see if we can't make our way back to the ship." Justin had to admit he had been hoping that perhaps Beth would pop up in the middle of the night, but he knew that was a stupid hope. She'd fought a wampa, lost, and he was just gonna have to get on without her and look to the survival of the rest of the crew.

The five of them made their way back to the front of the cave. They noticed it getting colder as they went, but not nearly as cold as before. It took them about ten minutes to reach the cave they'd started off in, and that was right by the entrance.

Outside it was bright and sunny, and, although not warm, was tolerable in the cold division. They plowed through the snow, following their tracks from the day before. It didn't seem to have snowed much the previous night, so there was a clear trail.

When they finally reached the Ebon Hawk, Atton, Bao-Dur and Kreia were standing outside the ship waiting for them. Atton and Bao were happy to see them, but Kreia as usual merely looked bored and annoyed.

"What happened to you?" she asked coldly. "And where are the other three?"

"Dead," Justin mumbled. "They died in the cave."

"What? Dead?" Atton exclaimed. "Impossible!"

"A wampa killed them."

"Are you really so sure?" Kreia said coolly. "Did you see them die?"

"Well no," Justin said angrily. "But they went to fight one and never came back!"

"Hmm..." Kreia looked towards the cave. You couldn't see it from the ship, but she looked straight at it. "I would advise waiting in the ship for a few hours before taking off. Your sister, and her friends, may surprise you."

_Back in the cave..._

_Damn, why is it so hot in here? _Beth woke up, sweating profusely. For a second she stared at the wall in front of her, forgetting everything that had happened after getting sucked into the game. When she remembered, she panicked. _Shit, I said I was gonna stay awake! What if he died!_

She checked Mical immediately. He was breathing normally, and he wasn't dead. She breathed a sigh of relief. She shook his shoulder. "Hey Mical, wake up," she said softly. He opened his eyes groggily.

He groaned. "I feel like I've been hit by a truck." He looked around. "Am I still feverish? Why's it so hot?" He glanced down. "And why is there a wampa cub in my lap?"

Beth smirked. "Answers are: No, I don't know, and the cub likes you. Deal with it." She stood, wiping off her brow. She pulled her friend up. "The only answer I have for the heat is that there might be a magma vein outside these walls. Even an ice planet has to have a molten core." She lifted the wampa into her arms again, and Mical grabbed HK's arm. "Now let's get out of here. If I never see Hoth again, it will be too soon."

"What are we gonna name the cub?" he asked as they walked, scratching said wampa under the chin. The wampa crooned, playing with his hand.

"I'm not sure. We're gonna have to think on that. Remember, it's our kid." They walked back up the tunnel. Thankfully, it got cooler as they went. Beth had been half-worried about dehydration. Still, she was thankful to whoever it was up there that had taken pity on them and let them live. And Mical's cold, as twisted and scary as it had been, was gone. She looked at the wampa in her hands.

"What to name you..." she muttered. Mical looked at her and smirked.

"Why don't we call him Furball?" He stroked the wampa's head. "He sure looks like one."

"You're really creative Mical, you really are. What would you do if you had a human baby? What would you call it?"

"I'd probably give it a human name."

"Well, then at least suggest human names if you're going to suggest at all." By this time they'd reached the cave entrance. It was midday, and sunny outside. Eager to be out of the cave, the two hurried out. They followed their tracks from the previous day, not even noticing that someone had been through the same trail not long before.

It didn't take them long to find the ship, and they were relieved. Both had been worried that they would come back to find the ship gone. They broke into a run.

_In the ship..._

"They are coming," Kreia said suddenly.

Justin jumped. "What?" he asked.

Kreia called out to Atton. "Open the exit ramp!"

Justin stared at her, disbelieving, but then he heard the sound of footsteps. He spun.

"Beth!" He ran forward and hugged her. He felt something squirm, however, and jerked back. He stared at the white bundle in his sister's arms. "What is that?"

Beth laughed. "This is my-our–" she gestured at Mical "–wampa. We found him after killing his mother."

"Whoa shit, Beth?!" Johnny Brennen, and Brianna had just walked in the room. "We thought you were dead!"

She smirked. "It'll take more then an angry mother wampa to kill me. Or us. Whatever." She placed the wampa on the table and helped Mical lug HK-47 onto the table.

"So what happened?" Justin asked as Beth and Mical sat down. Both looked like a mess, with their robes torn and bloodstained. The cub waddled over to Mical and curled up in his arms.

"Well," Beth said slowly, accessing the damage on HK. "It all started when we left–"

"Well duh, when else would it start?" Brennen said, sitting across the from her.

"Oh shut up. Anyway..."

The story wasn't very long. Beth skipped over the part about Mical being sick and having hallucinations, instead merely stating that the cave eventually got hot and they went to sleep without worry. She also skipped the part of the fight where she'd been prepared to spare the wampa mother.

"...And then we walked back here." Beth was finished repairing HK. She had decided to fix him while telling her story, which meant her story was occasionally interrupted by Beth swearing or yelling.

"And now you have a pet wampa," Brennen commented. "Not bad."

Justin related their own story to Beth, which was even shorter and did not involve so many swears. Beth was busy reactivating HK-47. By the time Justin was done the droid was sitting up.

"Query: Master? What happened to me?"

Beth grinned. "Don't worry about it H, the fact is you're all right now."

HK got off the table. Justin leaned back. "Can we get off this planet now? I hate this place."

Mical shook his head. "At least you didn't fight a wampa."

"Ya, but you got a baby one." Justin stood. "Anyway, I'm going to tell Atton to get us out of here." He walked off to the cockpit. Brennen and Brianna went off to the storage room, Beth, Mical and the cub went to medbay, Kreia went back to her room, and Johnny just stayed there since he didn't feel like getting up. HK began walking about the ship for no particular reason.

Justin started talking on the comm system. "We are now leaving Hoth." The ship lurched forward as they rose. "We will never come here again. In fact, I don't know why we came here in the first place. We will be stopping off on Tatooine next for a beer run. We'll be there by tomorrow."

In the storage room, Brianna grinned at Brennen. "So, did you use your great powers to keep us warm?"

"Yep. And they're so great they spread to Beth and Mical too."

"Who's turn is it to use the bed tonight?" Mical asked as he and Beth walked into medbay.

"Yours," she said. She wasn't actually sure, but figured he could use it after last night.

"All right." He flopped down on it immediately. "I'm so tired. I feel like someone beat me half to death."

"Sorry. I'll try harder next time." He laughed. Beth smirked. "Ya, maybe we should get some more sleep before we reach Tatooine." She lied down on the floor. "This wasn't even in the game," she muttered to herself.

"What's that?"

"Nothing."

Justin walked back into the main hold with Mira. Johnny was still sitting there. Justin sat down next to him. Mira kept walking towards the cargo hold. Justin looked at Johnny. "Hey buddy, what's up?"

Johnny sighed. "Well, I don't know...It's just kinda lame that everyone's got a girlfriend–and in Beth's case a boyfriend–but I got no one."

"Ah, don't worry too much about it Johnny. It could be much worse."

"Really? How?"

"You could be dead!" Justin stood, clapped him on the shoulder and walked off. Johnny shook his head. The conversation hadn't made him feel any better.

End Of Chapter 6


	7. Chapter 7

Knights Of The Old Republic Chapter 7_– _Changes, Confusion, No Beer

Justin was flying in his favourite X-wing, named _Flip And Kill_. He led a squadron of other X-wings. There was space battle going on nearby, and Justin's men were sent immediately to check it out. Many suspected Beth and Brennen, flying back from a mission elsewhere, had run into Mandalorians on the way back. But they were bound to be weakened, so Justin had rushed to their aid.

"There they are." Justin could see the battle up ahead. He spoke to his men over the radio. "All right guys, get ready for battle."

Justin led his men into the fray, shooting wildly. The mandalorians were good space fighters, but against Beth's squadron of A-wings and Brennen's squadron of B-wings they were screwed.

An A-wing zipped just over him, nearly smashing the front of his ship. A voice came over the comm. "Jaise Lynion, you motherfucker, how you doin'?" Justin laughed, recognizing Beth.

"Master Beth, I see you've run into some trouble here!"

"Nah, no trouble, just a few dozen mandalorians."

"More like a few hundred Beth!" Brennen was suddenly on the comm too. "Jaise, good to see you!" His B-wing zoomed by him.

"Good to see you too Brezu. Didn't want to miss the party." He rolled to avoid a mandalorian.

"And where is Lorenti in all this?" Beth asked.

"He's on a mission at the moment. He'll regret missing this!" Justin shot at an enemy ship and it exploded. He flew through the explosion.

Justin woke suddenly. "What a weird dream," he muttered. He remembered Beth mentioning a dream to Mical earlier too, something about a swoop. He looked over at Mira, who was still sleeping.

He was hungry. He got up and went out to the main hold. He glanced in the medbay as he walked by. Mical and Beth were asleep. No sign of the wampa though.

He walked into the main hold, and began looking for food. He found some bread in the cupboard, and looked in the fridge and grabbed some ham. It seemed someone had gone shopping on Nar Shadaa. He turned, eating the sandwich, and saw the small wampa on top the table, watching him.

"Piss off wampa. This is my sandwich." He took another bite of the sandwich. The wampa stepped closer, sniffing curiously. Justin grabbed a piece of ham and threw it to the wampa. The beast caught it in his mouth and crooned happily. He then waddled back to medbay.

Justin watched him. "Does he really consider those two to be his parents?" he wondered. He shook his head and started walking back to the cargo hold. He glanced in the medbay again. Mical was sitting up, petting the wampa slowly in his lap. It made a strange purring noise. Mical glanced at him when he stopped at the door.

"We decided on a name," he said softly, so as not to wake Beth.

"And what's that?"

Mical smirked. "Charlie."

"Really? That's an unusual name for a wampa."

He shrugged. "We could give him much worse names."

Justin patted the critter on the back. "Are you guys actually gonna raise him?"

"Ya," he said absentmindedly. "He's our responsibility now."

He left after that to go back to sleep. He had been sleeping for hours, but he felt like he hadn't slept for days.

_Morning..._

"This is Beth 92, bringing you today's news. We will reach Tatooine in two hours, where we restock on booze, possibly food, and not freeze to death. This is Beth, signing off."

This what greeted the Ebon Hawk crew's ears that morning. However, they were so used to getting woken up at all hours of the morning that it didn't bother them anymore. They took it as a sort of alarm clock, so the crew got out of bed.

Beth and Mical had taken over the ship earlier in the night so Atton could get some sleep. The wampa, Charlie, had been a handful. First he'd tried to chew on everything, and then he tried to play with all the buttons. It could've been quite catastrophic if Mical hadn't wrestled the wampa back and snapped some harsh words at him. Charlie didn't understand the words, but he understood the tone of voice. For a few minutes he'd merely sulked in the corner, but Beth and Mical ignored him, and eventually he crawled back to them, making strange rasping noises.

Justin walked into the cockpit. Beth was in the pilot's chair, Mical in the co-pilot's chair, and Charlie in between them. Justin leaned down and whispered in Beth's ear.

"Captain's chair."

Beth pushed his face away. "Shut up," she laughed.

Justin scratched the wampa behind the horns. "So we're not going to get lost on Tatooine right?"

"I don't know. But if we do, maybe me and Mical will end up with a pet Krayt Dragon."

Mical snorted. Justin shook his head. "Beth, a wampa is one thing. I don't think even you could handle a Krayt Dragon."

Beth shrugged. "Look, I won't go out of my way, all right?" She leaned back. Justin left to go see Mira.

Mical looked at her. "You want a Krayt Dragon don't you?"

She smirked. "You know me all too well. Nah, I wouldn't in the sense that I wouldn't be able to raise a Krayt Dragon right. Charlie is fine." She picked up the wampa and held him in front of her. "Besides, then we'd have to think up another name."

"And we'd have a really twisted family."

She laughed quietly. "It's already twisted."

"Not as twisted as that cold I had." He looked forward again. "How come you didn't get sick?"

She grinned. "I'm Canadian. I originate from the planet Canada."

"Really? Never heard of it. What's it like?"

Beth had to struggle to suppress laughter. "Peaceful. A lot of different races. Not very technologically advanced though. We don't like weapons. A lot of trees, and our native animals are Beavers, Moose, and Bears. Also, it's very cold. Most of the year is winter."

"Where is it?"

"I don't know. We left it years ago. Could be anywhere."

"Are all four of you from there?"

"Yep." She put the wampa back on the ground. "It's a boring planet though. Nice, but boring."

Justin, Mira and Johnny sat in the main hold. Johnny was talking non-stop, something about Tatooine, and sand-people, and Jawas. Justin had stopped listening a while ago. He looked at Mira.

"We'd better not come this close to death on Tatooine too," she said fiercely.

"Don't worry, I told Beth we're not going to get lost there. We're gonna go in, get the beer, and get out."

"I don't know," she said uncertainly. "You guys seem have a habit of attracting trouble."

He grinned sheepishly. "Ya, I suppose. But that's Beth mostly. Along with whoever she can drag down."

"Are you guys even listening to me?!" Justin and Mira turned back to Johnny.

"Sorry, but you were kinda going in circles there," Justin told him.

Johnny rolled his eyes. "You know, you three have gotten so boring after you started all these relationships. We used to hang out all the time, but now all you do is sit around babbling about crap." He walked away.

Justin frowned. "Have we really been that bad?" Justin asked Mira.

She shrugged. "I don't know. I think he's just mad because you're getting some and he isn't."

"Maybe he's right," Justin muttered. But then, what did Johnny expect? He wanted to spend some time with his girlfriend, so what? There wasn't much he could do about that.

Brennen and Brianna were in the storage room. It had somehow become their room at some point, he wasn't sure when. They had been talking about themselves, figuring they should get to know one another, when Johnny stomped in, throwing himself down on the floor.

This was a bit awkward. "Uh...Lorenti?" Brennen said. "What's wrong?"

Johnny was silent, then he let out an angry sigh. "It's Jaise and his bitch! He's always with her, and never wants to hang out with me. I don't get it!"

Brennen glanced at Brianna for a moment. Did he think they were any different? "Well, he probably wants to get to know her a bit. He's known you for years, but he hasn't known her for very long. They like each other and want to be together. That's not a crime."

Johnny suddenly jumped up. "You too?!" He sneered at Brianna, and Brennen bristled. "I should have known. You've got a bitch too after all."

Brennen leaped up. "Watch your damn mouth Lorenti!"

Johnny left.

Beth and Mical were bored, and playing a few rounds of rock paper scissors punch ,which was just like rock paper scissors except the winner punched the loser. Charlie did not like the game, and squawked angrily whenever one of them punched the other. The two found the game hilarious though, and not nearly as painful as the chair game.

The two were arguing over who had won, which with normal people wasn't an issue, when Johnny walked in. They didn't notice at first, they were too busy punching each other, so Johnny cleared his throat. They stopped abruptly and looked up.

"Hey Lorenti," Beth said, settling down immediately. "We'll be at Tatooine in an hour and a half, so–"

"I don't care about that." He sat down against the wall. "I'm just pissed off about all the relationships going on in this ship." He saw Beth and Mical glance at each other. "It's just... When we first got here, we were always fighting stuff and hanging out together, and now..." He shrugged.

Beth frowned. "Dude...Are you mad that Justin and Brennen have girlfriends and you don't?"

"Yes!" he exclaimed. Beth, Mical and Charlie jumped. "Yes I am! Ok? You happy? I don't see why they have all the luck with the chicks and I don't!"

"Well, I don't know either," Beth said, playing another round of rock paper scissors. "You think I understand how they managed to get girlfriends? I don't even know how I managed to get a boyfriend. Fuck, stupid crappy paper. Always loses." Mical punched her arm.

"Paper doesn't lose to rock," Johnny pointed out.

"No, but scissors lose to rock."

"Ya, but we weren't talking about scissors."

"Ya we were. Hey! You changed to scissors at the last second!"

"I did not," Mical said calmly.

"You did so!" She punched him. He swung his fist at her, and suddenly the two were fighting again. The little wampa whined anxiously, watching his adoptive parents try to push each other to either side of the room. Johnny shook his head. The two were a bomb ready to go off at any moment.

He decided to pull the two apart. "Come on guys, quit fighting."

"We don't mean it," Mical said.

"Ya. We only fight for fun," Beth told him.

Johnny let go and walked out. The two sat down again. Mical inspected his robe. "You know, I should sew this up eh?" he said suddenly.

Beth shrugged, comforting Charlie, who seemed to be in a panic about them fighting. "It's your decision. You might want to patch it though." Then she glanced at him. "You can sew?"

Mical laughed as he pulled a sewing needle and thread out of his pocket. "Your mind works in strange ways. You only hear what I'm talking about, not what I say."

"At least I hear that much."

_On Tatooine..._

"Now remember, no _getting lost_. We get the booze, and we get out."

Justin told them this as soon as they got off the ship. As usual, it was Justin, Mira, Brennen, Brianna, Beth, Mical, HK-47 and Johnny who got off the ship. Beth had also decided to bring Charlie along. Justin didn't like the idea, but the wampa and his parents seem to, so he didn't object.

However, if he'd been hoping for an easy job, grab the beer and leave, he was wrong. They reached the beer store fine, but Beth, Charlie, Mical, HK-47, Brennen and Brianna stayed outside the store, which turned out to be a mistake. A man had seen them landing, and the wampa had caught his eye. He was also interested in the HK droid.

He made his way towards them. Beth had the wampa on a leash, because he was extremely interested in anything he didn't recognize. Mical laughed as Charlie struggled to sniff at a passing Jawa. The man stepped up next to them.

"Nice wampa," the man said. Beth and Mical looked over at him.

"Thanks, I guess," Mical said.

"Where'd you get it?"

Beth began to get suspicious of the man's intentions. "We bought him a couple planets back," she lied.

"And how about that droid there?" He nodded at HK.

"Bought him years ago," Mical told him.

The man prepared to move his plan forward. "Listen, I have a proposition for you: I will buy both your wampa and droid for ten thousand credits. Deal?"

"No deal," Beth said immediately. "We have no need for credits."

"Are you sure?"

"Completely." She turned away. Charlie was trying to chew on his leash. Mical moved it away from his face.

The man backed off. He withdrew to his ship. He left it again with ten men following him. They snuck into an alley behind the beer store. They poured chloroform on some cloths and prepared to jump out at the six of them.

Beth waited until the man had left before turning to Mical. "Who was that guy?"

He shrugged. "Black market dealer probably. I'm sure a wampa would fetch a pretty price with some rich idiot."

Brennen and Brianna walked up to them. "What did he want?" Brennen asked.

"Buy Charlie and HK."

"Outraged Statement: Buy me?! I will rip them limb from limb!" Suddenly HK started sparking insanely.

"System's failing master..." He fell.

"H!" Suddenly someone grabbed Beth around the throat and pressed a cloth over her mouth and nose. She struggled, recognizing the smell right away. _Chloroform. Shit. _She passed out. The men dragged the Jedis and droid behind the building, all unconscious. Charlie bit the hand that tried to press the cloth over his mouth, but he too was wrestled behind the building.

_In the beer store..._

"...and have it delivered to our ship. Atton and Bao will be watching you, so don't try to steal anything." Justin dealt with the whole alcohol thing. He, Mira and Johnny did not hear the commotion just outside the building. So when they walked outside, they were puzzled at the lack of people.

"Maybe they went back to the ship?" Johnny suggested.

"Maybe..." The three of them ran back to the ship.

"Hey guys!" Atton said when they reached the Ebon Hawk. "Where're the others?"

"They're not here?" Justin began to get worried.

"Maybe...Maybe they went to the cantina. Beth does like to play cards," Johnny pointed out.

"I guess we may as well check..." The three of them turned tail and searched the town for the cantina. They had to ask for a few directions, but they found it pretty quickly. It wasn't very close to the beer store though. Justin thought it pretty unlikely that the others would go this far just to play cards when they could just play on the ship.

They searched the place anyway. They asked some people if they'd seen any of them, but all them said no. Many were drunk and implied that a couple of them resembled a whore they'd screwed once, but Justin ignored these ones.

They went back to the beer store, and stood outside. Justin called their a names a few times, but no one showed up. Of course, Justin had seriously doubted they were hiding.

"Damn it, where'd those idiots go?" he muttered. He heard a high-pitched squeaking at his side, and looked down. A Jawa was standing there, chattering non-stop.

"Crap. What's this guy saying? Brennen?" But then he remembered that Brennen wasn't there. He turned to Johnny and Mira. "You guys understand him?" They shook their heads. He considered for a moment. "Listen little guy, I don't know Jawa. Can you come with us to the ship, and see if there isn't someone there who can translate for us?" The Jawa nodded.

"Ok. Come on." The four went back to the Ebon Hawk.

_Elsewhere..._

Beth awoke in complete darkness. For a second she wondered if she'd gone blind. She put a hand over her eyes. No blindfold, and she couldn't even see her hand in front of her face. _Maybe I am blind. _She thought.

She stood. Or tried too. Something was weighing down her arms. She felt shackles on her wrists, and heard the sound of chain-links rubbing together. _Shit. Did they really chain me down? _She crouched on her knees. The chains were heavy, and it was hard to stand with them weighing her down.

She heard a groan somewhere to her left. She turned her head, seeing nothing in the impenetrable darkness. "Who's there?" she demanded, bristling.

"It's...Dammit, it's Brezu." She heard the sound of chains rustling. "Beth? Is that you?"

"Ya."

"Its bloody dark in here. What the Hell's going on?"

_At least I know I'm not blind. _Beth followed her chains back to their source. They were lodged in the ground, near a wall she slammed her head into. "Fuck!"

"What's wrong?"

"Can't see a damn thing!" Something rustled to her left. She spun, wrapping the chains around her arms. Feeling stupid, she fought out of them like a crazy animal. "Bloody chains!" she snarled.

"Beth?" someone called out. It was Brianna.

"Ya." She felt the shackles on her wrist, trying to picture them in her mind, find a way to slip out of them. "Brezu's here too."

"Where?" Beth could hear the eagerness in her voice.

"Over here," Brennen said. "Are you chained up too?"

"Yes." Beth heard her moving the chains. What she was doing with them exactly was anyone's guess. "Is there anyone else in here besides us three?"

"I don't know. I can't see worth shit. Shush!" Beth said suddenly. She heard footsteps, then the sound of a rusty doorknob turning, and then a bright light. She squinted. It was a door opening.

And there was the man who'd wanted to buy Charlie and HK.

"You!" Beth jumped up. "What are you doing here?"

"You know how much that wampa and droid are worth?" he said softly, menacingly. "I couldn't possibly let such fine specimen get away from me."

"You shit," Beth hissed. She looked around the room, now illuminated. "Where's Mical?"

"Oh, he's still alive." The man grinned cruelly.

Beth went cold. "What did you do?" she said in the most dangerous voice she'd ever used.

He laughed. "Oh you'll see. You all will. Starting with you." This he directed at Brianna. Brennen glared at him.

"Don't you dare touch her!" he threatened.

"And what are you going to do about it?" He walked up to Brianna and pulled out a key. He unlocked her chains and tried to drag her away. She resisted, and he punched her in the face. Dazed, she let herself be taken away.

"No!" Brennen shouted. He jumped forward, training to break his bonds. He laughed again, and slammed the door shut.

The two of them struggled, trying to break their chains. Both knew it was useless, but tried anyway. Beth finally stopped.

"Brezu! Brezu stop! This isn't helping!"

"Well I can't just sit here Beth! He's going to hurt her!"

"Ya? Well he's got my boyfriend, my wampa, and my droid, but I'm not gonna strain against my chains for hours on end. We gotta think of something that'll actually work." She felt the shackles again. She thought vaguely of the fact that if it weren't for her thumb she could wiggle her hand out, but the man had taken her lightsabers, and anyway she didn't feel like cutting off her thumbs. _Could I dislocate them or something though...? _But she wasn't sure how exactly to do that, especially in the dark, and she didn't envy the thought of breaking her thumbs repeatedly. _I'll put that in the maybe pile. _

She felt the part where the chain met the shackle, hoping that perhaps it was partially rusted, worn down, anything, but it seemed the man took good care of his chains. There was something unsettling about that. She felt the base of the chains, where the chain was attached to the ground. It was lodged deep into the stone, but of all her ideas, it was the best she could think up without mutilating herself.

She began kicking at it, over and over. She didn't feel it giving way, but she didn't stop. Brennen had fallen silent. Probably brooding on something.

An hour later she was still kicking the chain. It hadn't done anything she could feel. Then she heard the footsteps. She stood, facing the door. The man walked in.

"So, you're ready for me are you?" He laughed cruelly. "Well, good." He took out the key and approached her.

She stiffened, but said nothing. He unlocked the chains. As soon as he'd done so she struck out with her fist. He was too fast for her though, and grabbed her wrist. He socked her in the gut, and she coughed, crouching over. He smashed her across the face, busting her lip. Then he grabbed her by the back of her robe and dragged her out the door. She looked at Brennen hopelessly as the man slammed the door shut again.

They walked a short distance down a hallway, then he threw her in a room. She slammed down on the ground, but was up again quickly. She started to spin, to face the man, but caught sight of Mical, who was lying busted up and bleeding in the corner.

"Mical?"

He grinned tiredly. A couple of his teeth had been knocked out. "Hey Beth," he coughed.

The man was laughing. Beth turned slowly to face him. "You cold bastard," she said angrily. She sucked in a breath to use Force scream, but he flung out a hand. Beth had expected him to throw something, but she was pitched back against the wall and he hadn't even touched her.

She slid to the ground beside Mical. "Force adept?" she asked.

"Yep." He strained to push himself up, but failed. "He's some sort of crazed sadist."

Beth stood again. The man threw her back again. She managed to stay on her feet this time, but all this continued crashing was making her back sore. She screamed. It wasn't as powerful as it could have been, but it stunned the man back long enough for her to lunge at him. She slammed a fist in his face, but he smashed her in the chin with a powerful uppercut. She fell backwards. She'd never been much of a fist fighter. That had been Justin's job, not hers.

She struggled to stand, but once again he used Force push and she slammed into the wall. "Ok, I'm getting really sick of that," she muttered. It was these times that she wished she knew Force lightning or Force choke. Her hand brushed against her pocket, and she felt something hard within it.

Without pausing to think she whipped her hand into her pocket, grabbed what was inside and threw it. It slammed into the man's eye. He screamed, clutching at his face, and she recognized the pair of plyers she'd had on Goto's ship. She'd forgotten about those.

She took the chance she'd been given and leaped at him again. It was then that she made a new Force power. Force body check. Propelled by the Force, she slammed her shoulder into his chest. They both slammed into the wall, and Beth heard and felt something crack in his chest. She guessed at a rib. She leaped back a moment for better footing, then pounced at him a second time. He looked at her, astonished that this was happening to him, and she slammed her fist into the plyers sticking out of his eye.

He stopped moving. For a moment he stood there, blood pouring from his ruined eye socket. Then he collapsed. Beth backed up slowly. "You owe me a pair of plyers," she said quietly. She turned to Mical.

"How're you doing there buddy?" she asked. He forced himself into a sitting position.

"I woke up in here," he said in a strained voice. "He was just standing there, and I asked where you guys were. He just laughed, and said I'd find out soon enough." He was bleeding from his forehead. He wiped away some of the blood. "He used the Force to pin against the wall. It was weird, I couldn't even move. And then he kicked the shit out of me." He rubbed his side. "Then he dumped me on the ground, left for a while, and then he came back, said I was gonna see you soon, and I tried to stand but I was too weak."

"He took Brianna," Beth said. "Do you know where she is?"

He blinked, a bit dazed. "I never saw her."

"Charlie? HK?" He shook his head. Beth paused for a moment, then turned to the man and began searching his pockets. She found four lightsabers: her two, Mical's one, and Brennen's double-bladed. She found his keys, and then turned back to Mical.

"Can you stand yet?" she asked, putting his lightsaber in his belt.

He tried to force himself up, but suddenly shouted and fell again. He held a shaking hand to his side, where there was a growing bloodstain.

"Shit! What'd he do to you?" Beth asked, alarmed.

"Busted rib," he grunted.

"You're bleeding though. How bad is it?"

He lifted his robes to take a look. Beth felt sick at the sight. There was a mess of blood and torn skin on his right side, and the broken end of a white bone. His broken rib had tore through his skin.

"Shit," Beth breathed. She reached out to touch the splintered end. Mical sucked in a breath painfully. She paused. "I might be able to put it back."

"And you might not," he said, straining not to scream.

"Well, unless you can teach me how to Force heal a splintered rib, there's nothing else we can do besides try to put back the bone."

"You have any idea how much it hurts?" He was shaking.

"Obviously not, I've never had a bone sticking through my skin."

"I think I'm gonna be sick," Mical growled.

"That's shock. At least, I think it is. Look, your Force powers are exhausted, and the only other person who knows how to use Force heal is Justin, and we don't know where he is. It'll hurt less if I get it back in place."

"How do you know?"

"I don't. This is a theory."

"I don't know Beth..."

"Fine. Then I guess we'll just have to–" CRACK! She slammed the bone back into place. Mical screamed.

"All right. One shot." She inched back. Mical screamed himself out, and panted, eyes watering with pain. "Sorry buddy."

"If only I could believe that." He didn't sound angry. He sounded like he wanted to cry. He was still bleeding, but not as badly. She ripped a piece of fabric off the dead man's shirt and pressed it against the torn skin. "Here. Hold this here. I'm gonna go get Brennen, and then we'll go find Brianna."

She started to walk off, but then Mical asked wearily "Brennen? Don't you mean Brezu?"

"What? Oh. Ya." She walked out, holding her lightsabers out in case of attack. There had to be more people in this place. As she walked back down the hall, she realized how much her back hurt. She was walking stiffly, trying to cause as little pain as possible. _Bloody Force push. Bloody man. _

She reached her old cell. Instead of pissing around with the keys, she just slashed a hole in the door. She walked in. Brennen squinted at her.

"Beth?"

"Yep." She wasted no time in slashing off his chains. "Come on. I found Mical."

"Brianna?" he asked hopefully, taking his lightsaber from her hand.

"No, but we're going to look for her as soon as we grab Mical. He's hurt bad, and we can expect Brianna to be in similar condition."

The two ran back down the hallway, into Mical's room. Brennen was alarmed at the sight of him holding a bloody cloth on his chest. Beth suspected he was imagining how bad Brianna was. Beth helped Mical up, put his arm around her shoulders, and helped him walk out.

"Just like when you passed out at the bar," she joked. She passed the key ring to Brennen. "Here. You'll be able to use them easier since you're not supporting a full-grown man."

Brennen led them down the hallway. He opened three empty rooms before they found Brianna. And this was very awkward.

She wasn't wearing anything. Beth coughed and she and Mical looked away. Brennen tried awkwardly to keep his eyes skyward. Brianna wrapped her arms around herself, self-conscious.

"Uh, Beth?" Brennen called uneasily, still looking at the ceiling.

Beth was very uncomfortable. She eased Mical down on the floor, then looked about the room for something Brianna could wear. It seemed to be her responsibility as she was the only girl besides Brianna. However, the room seemed pretty much devoid of anything like clothing, with only two chairs and a closet that was empty.

Things were very uncomfortable. Brennen's face was a deep red, and Mical was gulping constantly, though that may been from pain, not awkwardness. Beth looked at Brennen.

"It seems the pervert didn't leave anything for her to wear," she growled.

Things were silent for a moment. Then Mical said "She can wear my robe I guess. I have pants on underneath."

Brennen looked at him gratefully. "All right. That'll do."

Mical took his robe off painfully, and Beth handed it to Brianna. She put it on thankfully, and then ran to Brennen. She hugged him tightly and started to cry.

Then things were awkward again. None of them were quite sure what to do with a crying girl. Beth and Mical looked at each other. Brennen paused for a moment, unsure, then put his arms around her.

She started babbling about how the man had raped her, but the words were barely distinguishable because she was sobbing. All three were disgusted and angry. Beth, for once, was glad she'd killed the sadistic rapist.

Brianna had just started to calm down when suddenly three men burst into the room. Beth spun, lightsabers ignited in a flash. The men stared at her, shaken by the hate in her eyes. Then they attacked. Beth slashed three times, each one killing one of the men. She had no time for them.

She looked at Brennen. "We gotta go," she said simply. "Now."

Brennen nodded. "Come on," he said softly to Brianna. She nodded.

Beth turned off her lightsabers and lifted Mical again. Once again throwing his arm around her shoulders, she gestured with her head for Brennen to lead. He ignited both sides of his lightsaber and stalked out the door. Beth and Mical went next, and Brianna stayed behind them.

Beth reminded Brennen that they had to find HK and Charlie. He nodded and continued unlocking the doors. There were fewer and fewer as they went along, all of which were empty. Finally they entered a bigger room.

It was hangar bay of some sort. There were about twenty men in there, all of which turned to look at who had walked in.

"Hey! It's the prisoners!" one yelled. The men pulled out swords and blasters.

_He's your responsibility Beth. _That's what Justin had said. Beth lowered Mical on the ground. "Keep still," she whispered. "Me and Brennen will take these scum."

Brennen turned to Brianna. "Stay here with Mical," he told her. "Me and Beth will finish this."

The two exiles stood side by side, holding their lightsabers. They glanced at each other, nodded, and sped forward. The men, surprised by their boldness, paused a moment. It was all the Jedi needed. They flashed through the crowd, cutting a bloody streak through their ranks. The two were quick, faster then anyone the men had ever seen. The two were in danger of killing each other as often as not. The men tried to back up, but Brennen pulled them back. Both were having memory flashes, old battles passing through their heads. The warrior spirit was alive in them.

In only a couple minutes the men were dead, and neither Jedi had even broken a sweat. For a moment they were not Brennen and Beth, but killers, with many deaths to answer for. For a moment, they did not remember their old lives, but only their Star Wars lives. For a moment, they would have been unrecognizable by anyone from their regular lives. Then Beth heard a familiar cry, and she came back to the present, and Brennen blinked, shook his head, and went back to Brianna.

"Charlie?" She looked about the hangar bay, around the boxes. "Charlie!" The wampa was stuck in a cage, and he had obviously recognized her sounds, and called out to her. She knelt down next to the cage. It was only big enough for him to curl up in a ball, and maybe shift a bit, but he wouldn't be able to even stretch out his legs. "Let's get you out of there." She slashed the bars carefully, making sure not to touch Charlie with the blade. Finally she pulled the cub out and held him against the front of her robes. "Poor guy. How long were you in there?" She suddenly heard a quiet croaking noise. She turned. "Uh oh."

Brennen hurried back to Brianna, who was staring at him. "I didn't know you fought like that," she breathed.

He smiled, then looked down at Mical, who was still holding a bloody scrap of material on his side. "Are you all right?" Brennen asked. Mical nodded, but didn't seem to really be listening. Brennen raised his voice, calling out to Beth. "Hey! Beth! Come get your friend! He can't walk yet!"

She was standing behind some the boxes, but she seemed to be staring at something. Brennen Force jumped over. "What's up?"

She pointed. He looked. It was a small, orange dappled frog thing. A gizka.

"Ah shit." Brennen sighed. "What are we gonna do with it?"

"No idea." She glanced at him. "Jaise's gonna be pissed is I bring another animal back to the ship."

"But...?" He knew Beth had more to say.

"But if we leave it here, it'll probably die. And I'll hate myself if I leave it here and it dies."

"But, fairly, you wouldn't know for sure if it was dead or not."

"No, but I wouldn't feel any better about it." Beth let out a breath. "What do you think?"

"I'm not sure. I don't want it to die, but I also don't want Jaise to be mad at me."

Beth and Brennen stared at the gizka. It watched them curiously. "We could always eat it," Brennen suggested.

"We could also not," Beth shot back.

Brennen sighed. "Fine. I'll grab it, and we'll figure out what to do with it later." He reached for it, but the gizka hopped back. Brennen straightened up. "I don't think he likes being held."

Beth put Charlie on the ground and reached for the gizka. This time it did not hop away, but allowed her to pick it up. It purred gently. Brennen stared in surprise.

"Now how did you do that?" he asked.

"No idea." She patted the critter's head. "Come on Charlie," she called to the wampa. He waddled after her. Brennen shook his head, wondering how she managed to do these things.

"What's that?" Brianna asked, staring at the creature.

"Gizka." She held the animal out. "Can you hold him?" Brianna took the creature in her hands.

Beth lifted Mical a third time. Charlie was chattering with a note of concern in his voice. He gripped Mical's pants in his claws. "He's worried about you," Beth said. "Ain't that adorable." She pushed Charlie away gently with her foot.

"So where do we go?" Brianna asked, rubbing the gizka behind it's ears.

Brennen was surprised to see that they all turned to him. _Since when did I become the leader? _"Well, let's just get out of here first," Brennen said. "Come on."

"Wait," Beth said suddenly. "HK."

_That bloody droid. _"Well, just look around here for him. He's probably lying around somewhere deactivated."

"I got a better idea." She looked at her wampa. "Charlie!" He looked at her. "Go find HK!"

Brennen couldn't believe she was telling a baby animal to find the droid, but sure enough the furry beast trotted off across the hanger bay, sniffing. He searched around the boxes, then suddenly he started making his raspy cries.

Brennen Force jumped over to the wampa. HK-47 was lying under a few boxes. Brennen shoved them off and pulled the droid out into the open. "Found him!" Brennen called.

The others walked over. Mical sat down on a box while Beth worked on turning on the droid. It only took a minute. HK sat up.

"Query: Master, was I deactivated?"

"Yep. Now come on, get up. We gotta get the Hell out of here." HK stood up slowly.

"Statement: Master, I don't think a shock stick is very good for my circuits." He caught sight of Mical. "Query: Master, did I miss something? What happened?"

"Not now H. We gotta get going."

"Statement: Yes master."

The six of them walked to the end of the hangar, found the exit, and stumbled out. They squinted at the sudden light.

"Ah shit." They were in the middle of a desert, with no city in sight. They slumped slightly, hopeless.

"I saw this coming, but this is sorta heartbreaking," Beth said. The sun was nearing the horizon. It would set in about an hour. They looked at each other.

"What now?" Mical asked tiredly.

"No clue," Beth answered. Damn her back hurt. "But we have to find shelter. If this like any other desert, it'll be really cold once the sun sets." Beth glanced at the building. "I suggest we stay here for the night and–"

"No!" Brianna snapped. They stared at her. "I'm not going back in there!"

"Brianna," Beth said, trying to calm her down. "The man is dead. He can't do anything anymore."

Beth was never good at calming people down though. "You wouldn't understand," she hissed, pressing closer to Brennen.

Beth had to force herself not to roll her eyes. She didn't want to seem insensitive, but she hated the phrase 'You wouldn't understand'. "All right, we'll go out into the unknown wilderness and hope to God we find something before we freeze to death on the hottest planet I've ever seen."

"Yes. Let's," Brianna said angrily.

Beth bristled at the tone. HK noticed. "Statement: If my master wishes it, I could rip out the insolent one's tongue."

"No H," Mical said quietly. "I don't think Beth wants Brianna to be harmed. Do you?"

"No," Beth breathed. Charlie sensed her unrest and growled, pulling at her robe. She glared at Brianna, who returned the favour. Brennen decided to step in before things worsened.

"Come on guys, we gotta get going if we wanna find shelter before night." He led them away from the building.

_Back on the ship..._

"This is a translator," Bao-Dur said, gesturing at what looked like a fancy box. "Whatever the Jawa says will be translated to Basic on this screen." He pointed at the black square that took up most of the front of the box.

"Well, let's test it out." Justin turned to the Jawa. "All right little dude, what's up?"

The Jawa started chattering away in that high-pitched voice. The crew looked at the box. There were small green words across the screen. "He is Iziz. He saw you looking for friends in front of the beer store. He knows what happened to them."

"Really?" Justin said excitedly "What?"

The Jawa started jabbering away again. "A man wanted to buy the small white thing, and the rusty droid. The small female and blonde male said no. He left. He came back with many others, fried droid, knocked out friends, dragged them away. Iziz knows where they went. He's seen it before. He's been there before."

"Where?' Justin asked anxiously. _Beth really has a nasty habit of almost dying. _

"Iziz will show you. Follow him, bring you to friends. For small price."

"I knew it!" Atton snapped. "This thing probably won't even show us where the others are, he'll just lead us into an ambush and take our creds!"

"I doubt that." Justin looked at the Jawa. "Listen little buddy, we'll pay you, but you gotta lead us to our friends first."

"Long way. Way out in desert."

"Well, that's shitty, but it doesn't change the deal. We get back alive, and you get paid. Credits mean nothing to a dead Jawa."

Iziz considered. "All right. Iziz will show you. Follow." He hurried off the ship. Justin, Mira and Johnny followed.

Iziz knew his way around town much better then them. He quickly found the exit to town and led the three of them out. Justin looked towards the horizon, judging how long it would be till sunset. He figured three or four hours, but wasn't exactly sure.

The Jawa seemed to know exactly where he was going. Justin stepped forward to speak with him. "Have you been here before often?" Iziz nodded. "Why? Curiosity?" Another nod. Damn he wished Brennen was here to translate. Then this would be a better conversation.

It was definitely a long walk. Justin looked at the Jawa again after about an hour's walk. "Are you sure he brought them to this place? Seems a long walk, especially with prisoners."

"They probably had swoop bikes," Mira pointed out. Iziz nodded. "Well, if so, they'll be way ahead of us. Probably been there for a while now. Swoops are much faster then a walking human. Or Jawa."

"Which means if we've been walking for an hour, plus all that time we spent walking around that town, then they've probably been there for at least an hour and a half," Johnny said. "If not more. We may not like what we find when we finally get there."

"They're tough," Justin said. "They'll be fine."

_Elsewhere..._

"Look, it's the only cave for miles around, and the sun is setting!"

"Ya, but Beth, there's a Krayt Dragon in there!"

"Then we'll tell him to shove an ass. I'm too tired to keep walking, and my back hurts like a son of a bitch."

This was the argument between Beth and Brennen as the six of them stood outside a giant cave. The sun was setting behind them, but they could clearly see the giant Krayt Dragon inside the cave. Mical was practically passing out on her shoulder, so it was more of a strain for her to carry him, and it was causing more pain in her already sore back, which meant she was in a bad mood. And when she was in a bad mood, nothing scared her. Including, it seemed, a Krayt Dragon.

Brennen and Brianna looked at each other worriedly. Brianna was still holding the Gizka, which Beth had decided to call Roger The Second. Brennen was worried that the stress of the day was taking it's toll on her and causing her to act irrationally.

"You sure this is a good idea?" Brennen asked.

"No," Beth snapped, but she started walking forward anyway. As they neared the cave the Dragon snorted sleepily, waking. It caught sight of the six of them, eight if you counted the wampa and gizka, and roared angrily.

Brennen was sure he was about to die, but then Beth did something amazing. She dropped Mical on the ground, putting her hands over her ears. She obviously was not happy with the noise. Then suddenly she yelled "SHUT UP!!"

The Krayt Dragon stopped immediately. Brennen, Brianna and Mical stared at her. Beth glared ferociously at the Dragon. "I have neither the time nor the patience for this crap!" she shouted. "Now move your damn ass over you fat lump of useless skin!"

Brennen inhaled slowly. She'd done it now. The Krayt Dragon stared at her, surely about to attack... But it moved over to the left side of the cave. Brennen frowned. "How...?" he muttered.

Beth, Mical, HK-47 and Charlie made their way to the cave. Roger squirmed out of Brianna's hands and hopped after them. Brennen and Brianna stared at each other, then hurried after the others.

The Krayt Dragon's body heat had warmed up the entire cave, so they didn't have to worry about the cold of the desert night. Beth had the guts to sit up against the Dragon's side as it lay down again to resume it's interrupted sleep. Mical, too tired to care or notice, fell asleep immediately, not caring that he was an inch from death. Charlie curled up next to him, and Roger hopped into Beth's lap. HK made it his duty to stand guard over his masters. Brennen and Brianna chose to sleep against the wall, although if the Krayt Dragon wanted them dead, the extra few feet wouldn't do much to help them.

Brennen looked at the Dragon uneasily one last time before falling asleep.

_Across the desert..._

"They're not in here!" Johnny said angrily. He spun to Iziz. "Well, where are they?"

"Calm down Johnny," Justin eased. "We saw a bunch of dead men in the hangar place. God knows they escaped."

Iziz had led them to some base that looked as though it had been dumped randomly in the desert. There was no one here except some dead people, and they weren't saying much. They'd just reached the end of a long hallway that ended in a dark, stone room with chains on the ground. Justin looked at a set of chains that were missing the shackles on the end.

"These were cut by a lightsaber," Justin told them. "They must been here."

"Nicely done sherlock," Johnny muttered.

"So they're not here," Mira said. "What now?"

Justin sighed. "I honestly don't know. They were taken here against their will, so they won't know which way the city is. They could have gone in any direction, and the wind would blow away any trail."

"And it's night right now," Mira added. "It's too cold to keep searching."

Justin growled in frustration. "All right. We'll stay here for the night and tomorrow...I don't know."

The four of them went to sleep in one of the rooms. Justin was pissed. _Why can't Beth just stay out of trouble?_

_In the cave..._

Brennen stood on an overpass, hidden in the tall grass. He was peering down at a trail beneath him, which was flanked by trees. He waited.

He shifted suddenly, squinting. A small patrol of Mandalorians was walking down the path slowly. They held blaster rifles and seemed terrified. With good reason. They were the third patrol this month to come down this path, and soon enough the third to not return.

As the patrol walked under the over pass, Brennen leaped down behind them, igniting his lightsaber. "Boo."

The Mandalorians spun. They caught sight of Brennen. Normally a single man wouldn't have scared them, but they recognized the robes and lightsaber, and knew this was a Jedi.

The leader open fired. Brennen easily deflected the shots, which hit the man in the face. He fell back. The other Mandalorians looked at the corpse, looked at Brennen, and then ran. Away.

Brennen shook his head, and sped after them. He was much faster then they were. He stabbed one on the back, slashed another in half, jabbed a third in the face. He zipped past all the men, leaving a trail of carnage in his wake. He skidded to a stop, glanced over his shoulder at the dead patrol, then smirked and ran back to base.

Justin, Beth and Johnny were eating supper in the mess hall when Brennen walked in. He sat down at the table, and Justin slid him a plate and a beer.

"How'd it go?" Justin asked as Brennen popped open the bottle on the edge of the table.

"It was a shitwalk. Patrols are nothing but soldiers who got paid into the army by rich snobby parents who want them to be in the least dangerous position doing the war."

"Not the least dangerous anymore," Beth said, taking a big bite off a giant drumstick. "What kind of bird is this anyway?"

"We assume it's turkey, but are advised not to dwell on the type of meat for long," Johnny answered. He turned back to Brennen. "So no trouble? You getting bored of patrols?"

"Well, sort of. It's not very difficult when they run away." He chugged down half the beer. "I know it's a necessary job, but damn it's boring."

"You could join my squadron," Beth said. She grabbed another beer and used her lightsaber to chop off the cap. "We never go after patrols."

"Don't you go into enemy camps on swoops to soften up the Mandalorians?"

She nodded. "It's better then if I go in alone. More deaths on their side, and less chance of me dying." She tipped the bottle into her mouth.

Brennen considered. "How would I get in? Just out of curiosity."

"You ask me. I lead the squadron. You gotta be crazy though. Reckless. The timid don't get in."

Brennen thought for a moment, then finished his beer and stood, carrying his plate. "I'll sleep on it."

"Where ya goin'?" Justin asked.

"My room. I'm exhausted. I'm just gonna eat my food and go to sleep before anything else exciting happens."

Brennen woke groggily. Brianna was leaning against his shoulder, sound asleep. He looked out the cave opening. It was still dark.

He turned his head to Beth and Mical. Beth had a habit of swearing profusely in her sleep, but she was silent now. Mical was leaning against the Krayt Dragon's giant leg. Charlie was lying across his chest, and was crooning in his sleep. The gizka, Roger, was using Beth's leg as a pillow. He kicked his leg occasionally in his sleep. HK had powered down, his eyes dark, but he still stood there, like a rusty metal scarecrow.

Not that they needed HK to keep watch when they had a Krayt Dragon to keep anything and everything away.

He wanted up. He eased himself away from Brianna and walked to the opening of the cave. He looked up at the stars.

He couldn't help but wonder if his own planet, Earth, was somewhere among those millions of stars. It seemed likely, but that didn't seem to matter right now, since there was almost no chance of him finding it, and anyway it wouldn't be the planet he'd once lived on. Star Wars was set years before his time.

"You're awake?" He turned. Beth walked up next to him. "Something up?"

"I had a weird dream." He related it to her as she stared out along the sand dunes.

"Sounds familiar," she said quietly.

"Do you remember it?"

"No. But I feel like I should. I've had dreams like that before. It just supports Jaise's theory that we're no longer who we used to be."

Brennen sighed. "The thing is, I don't how I should feel. I mean, I know it sounds stupid, but I did have a life there."

Beth shrugged. "I don't know. Honestly, compared to my old life, this one seems much better."

"Well, what about your friends? Your family?"

"Well, Jaise is my family. And, in a way, so are you guys. Look, it's not like I've gone all cold turkey on my old life, but this is the situation we're in, and we gotta deal with it. Thinking about what used to be doesn't move us forward."

"Are you always so profound at night?"

"Nah. Just when I'm tired."

"Well, if you're tired, go to sleep."

"This'll sound weird, but I don't feel like going back to sleep."

"Bad dreams?"

"No. Just strange."

"You mean about your past?"

"Ya..."

She fell silent, and Brennen decided not to pressure her into speaking. The two stood in silence for awhile. Then Brennen looked at her again.

"Does your back still hurt?"

She breathed in slowly. "Ya. Not as bad, but ya. I hate Force push."

"You dissing my main Force power?"

"Ya."

She wasn't much for conversation anymore. It seemed the profound statement had left her drained. But there was one last thing he wanted to ask.

"How did you make the Krayt Dragon back down?"

She closed her eyes. "I don't know. I just did. It felt natural. Can't explain it. I think I've done it before."

Brennen thought of the wampa, the gizka, and thought _Of course you have._

She looked at the Krayt Dragon's face, very peaceful in it's sleep. Brennen wondered what she was thinking about. Not long after that, however, he went back to sleep. Beth didn't even glance at him when he walked off.

Beth didn't feel like sleeping. She'd had disturbing dreams, involving her staring into the faces of dead or dying soldiers, many of them friends. It had been a battle they'd lost, and she'd shown up too late.

She heard a croaking sound near her feet. She looked. Roger was hopping up and down, trying to get her attention. She picked him up.

"You know, I like you and all, but I still wish I had Roger The First here," she muttered quietly. He made a weird cooing noise. _Does he understand me? _She wondered. He'd sounded almost sympathetic. "It's my fault. I had to go and get drunk, let him wander away..." But she didn't chase the thought too far. She knew blaming herself would only make her sad and depressed, and it wasn't completely her fault. Roger was the one who'd chosen to leave. Part of the blame lay with him.

Beth looked back at the Dragon. "How did I make him obey me?" She was tired of questions without answers. This wasn't in the game. She had no simple answer.

She yawned, then heard someone walking up behind her. It was Mical, holding Charlie in his arms.

"What's up?" he asked softly.

"So you can walk now?"

"I'm feeling better, but my side still hurts." She looked. The gash was scabbing over, but still oozing blood slightly in places.

"Is something wrong? You look distressed."

Beth grinned slightly, looking at the cub in his hands. "I had strange dreams. Bad dreams."

"What about?"

Beth leaned against the Krayt Dragon's head. It grunted but didn't wake. "A battle. Old battle. It was one we lost. I came in just in time to see the results." She sighed. "Just a lot of dying friends too far gone to save."

Mical didn't seem too sure about what to say. They looked out the cave opening, watching nothing. Beth wasn't sure what they'd do in the morning. They were lost. There probably wasn't a city for miles. They could walk in any direction for days and not see anything.

Mical stepped closer to her. "This is pretty shitty eh?" he whispered. "How are we gonna get off this giant pile of sand? God knows the others might just leave without us when they find us gone."

"They wouldn't," Beth said, but the same thought had gone through her head more then once.

"And if they did?"

"Then our journey is over, and they are assholes."

They fell silent once again. Beth looked at the stars, trying to pick out constellations. But she didn't recognize any of them.

She suddenly walked out of the cave. Mical followed her out, wondering what she was doing. It was much colder outside, especially since Mical hadn't gotten his robe back yet. Beth seemed to be heading somewhere though, and he didn't want to just let her go.

She didn't go far. A few yards out she stopped walking. He hurried next to her. He looked at her face. She was staring forward, not blankly, but intently. Like she was looking for something.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"Don't you feel it?" She looked at him, amused. "You call yourself a Jedi?"

He cocked his head to the side, puzzled, trying to feel whatever it was she was talking about.

"There's someone near," she whispered. "A few of them. They know we're here."

Mical shivered, not because of the cold. He turned to look behind him and felt something crash into his skull. He fell, unconscious. Beth felt something smash into the back of her head. In the split second before she collapsed she was fully aware that she had been expecting the blow.

_Morning..._

The Krayt Dragon groaned loudly as it awoke, and it was an alarm clock for everyone. Brennen and Brianna stood, stretching, at first not realizing something was wrong. HK, powering up, pointed it out.

"Query: Where are my masters?"

Brennen glanced first at the spot where Beth and Mical had been sleeping. Then he looked at the front of the cave. He frowned.

"Charlie and Roger are gone too," Brianna noted. The Krayt Dragon turned it's head to look at them. It too looked puzzled at the sudden decrease in visitors.

Brennen walked up to it slowly and patted it's giant snout. "You wouldn't happen to know where they've gone would you?" He felt stupid asking, but didn't really care. The Dragon turned back to the front of the cave and stomped out.

Brennen and the others followed it, careful to avoid it's giant feet. He didn't expect it to lead them to their friends, but they had to leave the cave eventually, it may as well be now.

The Dragon stopped, sniffing at the ground. Brennen ran up to his head. "What do you smell you dumb dragon? Anything interesting?"

It bared it's teeth at him, as though insulted, and then nodded to the north. Brennen glanced that way briefly.

"What? Something that way?"

The Krayt Dragon clawed the ground. It flicked something toward Brennen with it's claws. A piece of material landed in front of him.

"What's this?" He picked it up. Some sort of beige cloth. "Is this supposed to mean something to me?"

Brianna and HK approached him. The droid grabbed the scrap of cloth from his hand.

"Statement: If I remember correctly, this is piece of fabric from Sand-meatbag clothing."

"Sand-people?" This took a moment to strike home. "Aw shit, have they been taken by Tusken Raiders?" The Krayt Dragon growled in response, sounding like an affirmative. "Son of a BITCH! How is it that Beth manages to get into trouble no matter where she goes?! She could be a bathroom stall and get herself killed!"

"Query: What makes you think she's dead, meatbag?"

"Like Tuskens are gonna let her live!"

The Krayt Dragon snarled. "Translation: The Dragon points out that if the Tuskens did not want her and her friends alive, we would see their corpses laid out before us."

"You can understand that thing?"

"Statement: I would think that was obvious, meatbag. Even beasts have something to say occasionally."

"Ya? Well does he know where the Tuskens have taken them?"

The Krayt Dragon growled. "Translation: He says he already told you. The closest Sand-meatbag enclave is to the north, about an hour's walk. Statement: I suggest we start now."

"Is he coming?" Brianna asked, pointing at the Dragon. The Dragon growled again.

"Translation: He says no, female meatbag. He has more important things to do then go running after Sand-people."

"Like what? Eat?" Brennen shook his head. "Whatever. We don't need some giant cowardly lizard."

"Statement: Mocking a Krayt Dragon when my master is not around to stop him is a bad idea."

The Krayt Dragon, however, had decided to ignore the taunt and stomped back to the cave. The three of them ran off to the north.

_Elsewhere..._

"Do you have any idea where they might be?"

Justin was talking to Iziz, or trying to. Being unable to understand Jawa, it was slow going. The Jawa seemed to making some sort of hand signs, but Justin didn't know sign language.

He, Johnny, Mira and Iziz were standing outside the base, trying to figure out which way they should go. Iziz spread his arms wide apart.

"Ok, big," Justin said. "That's easy."

The Jawa crooked it's fingers, and made slashing motions.

"Uh...Claws?" Justin asked. Iziz nodded. "Ok, big and clawed. Is it an animal?" Iziz nodded eagerly. "Native to this world?" Nod. "A Dewback?" Iziz shook his head. "Krayt Dragon?" He nodded. "Ok, so a Krayt Dragon. What about it?"

The Jawa scratched his head. He dug a hole in the ground and pointed at it. "I thought you said it was a Krayt Dragon. Krayt Dragons don't burrow." Iziz shook his head.

"I think he means a cave or something," Mira supplied. The Jawa nodded excitedly. Then he pointed in a certain direction.

"A cave in that direction?" Justin asked. Another nod. "And there's a Dragon in it? Well that's fucking peachy. Why would we want to go there?"

"Perhaps the others would head for it too," Johnny said. "You know, as shelter."

"But with a Krayt in it? That's insane! Even by Beth's standards!"

"Look, it's the only lead we have. If they wandered off into the desert, they're likely to dehydrate and die somewhere eventually. And we can't do the same, it would be suicide. It's just as likely they went this way as any other direction."

Justin sighed. "All right. To the Krayt Dragon cave we go." He led them off across the desert.

_In the sand-people enclave..._

Mical woke groggily. His head pounded insanely. He started to sit up, and Beth was suddenly at his side.

"Easy buddy. You took a nasty hit to the forehead."

Mical raised his hand, touching a makeshift bandage made from part of her sleeve.

"It ain't bad, but you'll probably be a bit dizzy. You've had it rough the past day or so haven't you?"

He groaned in response. "Where are we?"

"Enclave. Sand-people took us here after knocking us out."

"Why?"

"I don't know. I'm not fluent in Tusken." This last comment was a bit wry.

"At least we're not in chains." He looked around. Charlie and Roger sat a few feet away, watching him cautiously. "How long was I out?"

"A couple hours longer then me." She looked at the door to the prison. "They seemed puzzled about something. The Tuskens. Well, whatever. We're still stuck here, and I have no idea how we're going to get out of this. And I'm really sick of people taking my lightsabers."

Mical instinctively reached for his lightsaber, but of course it wasn't there. "Shit. We still got the Force though."

"For all the good that'll do us against an Enclave of Tuskens. I'm good, but fighting hundreds of enemies with gaffi sticks using only the Force? Impossible. Even with my lightsabers we'd be lucky to get out alive."

Mical put a hand out towards Charlie, who seemed terrified. The cub waddled over immediately, and he stroked the wampa's head. "I'm surprised they let us keep the animals."

"They're not interested in Charlie and Roger. At least, I don't think so. They seemed much more interested in us really."

"How so?" he asked suspiciously. She snorted.

"Not sexually at least, and that's a start." She laughed at the look on his face. "Nah, but I hope they don't make us into slaves or something. I'd be the worst slave in the galaxy."

"What? No strength?" Mical joked.

"No, too lazy." They grinned. Roger croaked suddenly, looking at the door. It opened abruptly, and two Tuskens walked in.

The Jedi stood. Charlie hid behind Mical's legs. Roger croaked a challenge, but Beth scooped him up quickly.

The tuskens gestured for them to follow. Mical picked up the wampa, who seemed too scared to move, and they let themselves be led out.

The tuskens took them to another room, which seemed to be more elaborately decorated then the others. Two other tuskens were here, one that looked just like the others, but the other wore darker robes, and seemed to be more respected.

The darker one bellowed something. Beth was just thinking about how this conversation was gonna go nowhere when the second tusken said "The chieftain asks you how you managed to sleep in the Krayt Dragon's cave."

Beth and Mical looked at him in surprise. His voice was deep and raspy, but he was unmistakably speaking in Basic. It took them a few seconds to realize they'd been asked a question. Mical looked at Beth, and the chieftain took this as a sign that she held the answers he sought. He turned to her too.

"Well...I asked," she said. The tusken translated this for the chief.

"How?" the translator asked.

"I suppose you could say I yelled," she said uncertainly. He told the chief this.

"He asks if you have a gift with animals."

"What do you mean?"

"You hold a gizka in your hands. He holds a wampa. Both trust you. And you "asked" a Krayt Dragon if you could sleep in his cave. Didn't you find any of this strange?"

"Not really. I've been able to do it all my life." As she said these words she remembered a time in the war when she and her platoon were attacked by a zakkeg and she'd told it to piss off.

The translator said this to the chief. "We believe you may have a special power with animals. A gift."

"It could be the Force."

"Are you using the Force when you speak to the animals?"

She thought back. No, she hadn't. She remembered the wampa letting her stroke his face, the gizka coming straight into her arms, the Krayt Dragon stepping aside. She'd never used the Force when going near them. At once she remembered a dozen times when she'd interacted with an animal, never once using the Force.

"No...What's it mean?"

"You have some sort of power over animals. You understand them. They understand you. Often they do as you say. You've noticed this, even if you haven't put it in words."

Mical was looking at her, but she didn't meet his eyes. She felt weird. She looked at the translator. "So what happens now? Will you let us go?"

The translator asked the chief. "He says you are free to go. He warns you that it is dangerous out there though."

"Can you give directions back to a town?" Beth asked.

"The closest one is east of here. But the journey will be perilous. There is a tribe of sand-people near there. They will attack you, and if possible, kill you. Even with your lightsabers." He took out three lightsabers just then and handed them back.

"You have any ideas on how we get back then?" Beth asked as she put her lightsabers away.

The translator chuckled. "Oh, we have an idea."

A few minutes later, two tusken raiders carrying lightsabers and leading a wampa and gizka set out from the enclave.

_In the cave..._

The Krayt Dragon had been planning on a few more hours of sleep before venturing out into the desert. The male, ghost female and droid had left an hour or so before. But his sleep was once again disturbed.

He smelt something on the air. He opened his eyes. A tall male, a shorter male, a red-haired female and a Jawa stood before him. He prepared to attack, but then he smelt something else. He threw his nose forward at the humans, sniffing. Yes, they had the smell of the small female who'd been here previously. The one who had been taken by the tuskens with her blonde haired friend. He shifted back, looking at them, confused. He was hungry, but he didn't want to attack friends of the small female.

The taller male turned to the shorter one. "Jaise, this is useless. The only thing here is a Krayt Dragon that seems to be a vegetarian. They probably wandered into the unknown wilderness and are dead somewhere."

The shorter one sighed wearily. "I know. I just wish..." His shoulders sagged.

The Dragon felt sorry for the shorter male. He lowered his head to face the male and growled quietly.

The male, Jaise, looked at him. "What? You gonna tell me where my sister is?" he snapped, too miserable to care that he was talking to a Krayt Dragon. The Dragon turned his head, looking at a gaffi stick leftover from some meal or another. He nudged it with a paw, pushing it towards Jaise.

Jaise frowned. "Impossible," he muttered. Then he turned to the Jawa. "Iziz, is there a sand-people enclave nearby?" The Jawa nodded slowly, confused. Jaise bit his lip, considering. Then he said "Lead us there. Now." The Jawa led the other three out back into the desert, heading north.

The Dragon lay down again. There. He'd done his good deed for the day.

_Elsewhere..._

"There it is. The Enclave."

"Mockery: Oh really? Where? I can't see it. Is it behind that giant Enclave thing guarded by Tusken Raiders?"

"Oh shut up HK."

"Statement: I do not follow your orders. I follow the orders of my masters."

Brennen ignited his lightsaber threateningly. "I'll turn you to scrap if you keep jabbering."

He did not have time for idiocy right now. He was busy trying to think of a way to break into the Enclave without them dying. In the distance he saw two Tusken Raiders walking away to the east. Well, that made two less to get by. Suddenly he peered at them closely. Damn that one was short... And were they leading something? He shook his head. The heat was making him hallucinate.

"Statement: I was here once before. I was with Darth Revan."

"Darth Revan?" He thought of the beer bottle. Star Wars Jack Daniels.

"Statement: Yes. I proved very useful, as I knew the language of the sand-people."

Brennen looked at him quickly. "Really? If we walked up to the guards, would you tell them we mean no harm?"

"Statement: I will do it only for the sake of my masters. Don't get the idea that I want to help you."

"Deal. Now come on. Slowly. Don't make any threatening movements."

The three of them walked up to the Enclave slowly, keeping their eyes on the guards. The two approached them, holding their gaffi sticks at the ready.

"Tell them we've come for Beth and Mical," Brennen whispered. "We're willing to negotiate."

HK called out to the guards in tusken. They stopped a few metres away, listening. They whispered something in each other's ears, and then said something back to HK.

"Translation: He wants to know if we mean the small female and the blonde male."

"Well, tell them yes!" Brennen exclaimed.

HK answered the tusken raider. The guards started laughing. Then one bellowed an answer in his barbaric tongue.

"Translation: They left for town a few minutes ago. To the east."

Brennen stared at him, wide-eyed. "Oh you gotta be shitting me!" He ran to the east without another word. HK-47 and Brianna hurried after. The guards watched them leave, then took up their post again.

_To the east..._

Beth and Mical had to admit, it was pretty cool wearing tusken raider attire. It was also cool to discover the mask had a moisture vaporator type thing on the front. And it made them sound like they speaking Tusken Raider. This was probably the coolest thing. They couldn't even understand each other.

Mical had Charlie on a leash, and Beth had Roger the same way. They didn't want the animals to run away after all. Chances are they wouldn't but they didn't want to risk it. After all, if they lost them, what would they do? Put up posters? She could see it now: Lost wampa. About two feet tall. White fur. Last seen in the middle of the Tatooine desert. Answers to Charlie.

It made Beth happy knowing they'd be back in a city soon, but she was worried about Brennen, Brianna and HK. She wondered how they'd all get out of this mess alive.

They'd been walking about ten minutes when suddenly they heard yelling behind them. They turned and saw Brennen, Brianna and HK running up to them. Beth was so excited and relieved she forgot that she was wearing sand-people clothing, and began waving her hand high in the air, calling out at the same time.

Brennen slowed cautiously. He thought he'd seen Beth and Mical, but instead all he saw were two Tusken Raiders, one of which was waving a lightsaber in the air and bellowing like a mad creature. He recognized the animals, on leashes in front of them. But why were Charlie and Roger with two tuskens? And why did said tuskens have lightsabers? In the end, he had only one answer.

These two had killed Beth and Mical, taken their lightsabers and stolen their animals. Why else would the wampa and gizka be on leashes? They never ran away from their owners.

The thought sent him into a rage. "You pieces of shit!" he shouted. "You killed them!" The shorter tusken, the one who'd been yelling, quieted down. He glanced at his partner. Brennen ignited his lightsaber. "I'll kill you!" Alarmed, the two tuskens raised their hands, as though trying to tell him to calm down. But the sounds they made were anything but soothing. He lunged at them, swinging his lightsaber. He figured two tuskens, even with lightsabers, should be no problem.

He slashed at the shorter one. However the taller one stepped in the way, igniting Mical's green saber and blocking the hit. The tusken shoved Brennen back. Though he was up again in a flash, he couldn't help but think _Damn. That's one well-muscled tusken raider_.

The tall one bellowed something at him. He ignored it and attacked again. The tusken parried the shot and threw him back again.

Tired of being thrown, he pushed himself up a second time. He prepared for a third charge, but suddenly Brianna grabbed his shoulder. "Wait! Look! They're trying to say something!"

Brennen looked at the tuskens. The two bellowed and roared in their strange language. Then suddenly they ripped off their masks. Brennen stared, thinking he was about to see what a tusken looked like under the mask.

He sure as Hell hadn't expected them to look like Beth and Mical.

"Oh shit." Brennen slapped a hand over his face. He'd nearly killed his friends to avenge his friends. "Whoops."

"Whoops?" Beth exclaimed. "You nearly killed me! What, you thought two tuskens normally walked about with lightsabers, a wampa and a gizka?"

"No, I thought they'd killed you and took your stuff!"

"And what, that they were going to walk off to town with it and hock it? Jesus Christ Brezu, you were gonna kill us! We told you to stop!"

"Well sorry if I don't know tusken!"

"We were making signals for you to stop! We held up our hands, making stop signs! If it hadn't been for Brianna one of us would probably be dead!"

Brennen was angry. He'd spent the whole day trying to help these two, save them, and now here they were, pissed off with him. Both were glaring at him. Even Charlie and Roger were snarling, their adoptive parent's anger rubbing off on them.

"Ok, so I'm sorry, all right?!" he snapped. "I've been trying to find you two all morning, and then I saw two tuskens with your stuff, and you think it would occur to me that you two decided to play dress-up?"

Beth sniffed, looking away. "Well, I suppose we're both at fault. But I'd suggest not attacking things that haven't attacked you first."

He made a face at her. "So how come they let you live anyway? Or did you kill your away out?" This was a dumb question, but he was still pissed off with the two of them.

Beth narrowed her eyes at him. "They let us out. And I'm not telling you why. I don't think you deserve to know." Brennen opened his mouth to object, but Mical looked at him dangerously, and he shut up. He was pretty sure he would have lost that fight with him if Mical hadn't been holding back.

"Now come on. The town is just to the east. We got these sand-people clothes so that we could walk through more sand-people territory unscathed, so we're going have to pretend you're our prisoners or something if we come across any."

"Of course," Brennen muttered. Beth bristled, but Mical put a hand on her shoulder and she calmed down. The two put their masks back on and led the group eastward.

_Back at the enclave..._

The two guards had re-assumed their posts in from of the enclave entrance for about an hour when suddenly two males, one female and a Jawa came running up to them. The shorter male, panting, asked them something they didn't understand. The Jawa began chattering to them. The two guards knew enough Jawa to understand that they were looking for the short female, the blonde male, and the strange group that had been there before. They pointed eastward, irritated that they were only doing this because, they assumed, these were friends of the beast-talking female.

They ran off immediately, and the guards were once again left standing there wondering what the Hell had just happened.

_To the east..._

"...yoho yoho a pirate's life for me!" Beth sang, although to the others it sounded like more tusken rabble. They just thought she was talking a lot. Occasionally she and Mical would talk to each other, just to freak the others out, since they always sounded pissed off when speaking tusken. It was funniest to yell and make a big scene, because it made the others especially nervous.

They walked for three hours straight before Beth and Mical's injuries began to catch up with them. Beth's back hurt, and Mical's side was sore from the gash that refused to fully heal. They didn't think of Force healing of course. Brennen noticed them walking stiffly and gingerly, but was still angry with them and didn't remind them to heal themselves. _Ungrateful shits..._

"Did you hear that?" Beth asked, but it just sounded like tusken again, and everyone ignored her. She looked over her shoulder. The sun was setting, and it was getting dark. Her vision was terrible during the day, let alone night. She glanced at Mical, who looked back at her, curious as to what she was saying.

Suddenly there was a yell. "Get away from them you tusken bastards!" Beth and Mical spun, and someone slammed into them, knocking them over.

The two stood slowly. A man was already jumping at them again. He crashed into Mical, and they both fell to the ground. The man's full weight slammed down on his injured rib, and he screamed. In tusken, it sounded like an angry roar.

"Get off him!" Beth grabbed the man by the back of his shirt to pull him off, but something flashed in the corner of her eye. She Force jumped back, just in time to avoid a purple lightsaber to the face. "Lorenti?" she called, but she never thought to take off the mask so they could understand her.

Johnny flung out his hand. For the first time, Beth felt the pain of Force lightning. She screamed.

"Jaise! Lorenti! Stop! They're not tusken raiders!" Brianna and HK were trying to drag Justin off Mical. Justin drew back his fist to punch him again. HK socked him one in the face, then forced him off. Brennen body checked Johnny into the ground, cutting off the lightning. Beth fell to her knees, struggling to breathe.

"What the Hell are you doing?" Justin protested. "They're tuskens, they're..." He trailed off as Brianna pulled off Mical's mask, revealing his face. "Oh shit..."

Mical groaned. His side was bloody again, dripping out through his shirt and onto the sand. He blinked, delirious from pain. Beth crawled over to him, clothes smoking from the lightning. She coughed, ripping off her mask. It was hard to breathe for some reason...She collapsed next to him.

"Brennen made the same mistake," Brianna told him. "But he didn't kill them..."

"They're not dead," Justin said desperately. _Shit. What if I did kill her? _He was exhausted after the day's events, but he managed to heal them enough to keep them alive. They'd both passed out, but at least he knew they'd wake up again in the morning. The little wampa, Charlie, was jabbering terrified noises, staring at his prone parents. There was also a small frog creature that was croaking worriedly, poking Beth with his snout. He recognized it as a gizka.

"Who's this?" he asked, pointing at it.

"That's Roger," Brianna said. "Beth found it in some base..." She shivered suddenly, as though she didn't like the memories. Brennen pulled her close.

Johnny stared at his hand, horrified. He'd nearly killed her. "I gotta watch it," he muttered. "She could of died if it weren't for Brezu. Jesus."

Justin looked to the horizon. The sun had finally set. He sighed. "Well, we may as stay here for the night. These two aren't gonna get up for a while. They're beaten to shit and exhausted, and they'll sleep better if we're not carrying them around."

"Won't it get cold out here?" Mira said.

"Statement: I will go see if I can find something to make a fire with." HK walked off.

"Don't go too far HK!" Justin called.

"Who's this?" Brianna asked, noticing the Jawa.

"Oh." Justin sat down, looking at the Jawa. "This is Iziz. He helped us find you guys. And it was a damn long search! You move too fast!"

"We try," Brennen said. They were all sitting by this time. Justin looked absently at Roger, who had lied down on Beth's back and gone to sleep. Charlie was sprawled across Mical's legs. _It's like they have some sort of bond with animals..._He thought.

HK came back with some scrap wood. He said it was from an old trashed ship or something. Mira pulled out a lighter and lit it up. Justin stared into the fire as the others around him lay down to sleep. HK stood as though on guard, but powered down. Justin knew he'd wake if something attacked though, and went to sleep too, worry free.

_The next morning..._

Beth groaned as she woke. She felt like she'd been beaten half to death twice. She pushed herself up with her arms, and felt something tumble off her back. She heard Roger let out a startled croak and grinned. She rolled over, pulling herself into a sitting position. Roger hopped into her lap, cooing softly.

"Hey little buddy," she whispered. Her lungs hurt for some reason. Must have been the lightning from the night before. She rubbed him behind the ears.

Mical sat up beside her. His entire right side was stained with old blood. Charlie growled joyfully. "I am in so much pain right now," he said quietly. "And I'm stiff as Hell."

"Can you use Force heal?" Beth asked, still in a quiet tone.

Mical lifted his hands. His fingers were silhouetted with a bluish mist. Suddenly it was easier for her to breathe, and her back wasn't in screaming pain. Her head stopped hurting from the hit the sand-people had given her before.

Then he healed himself. The bruises and cuts on his face disappeared leaving only small scars. He let out a sigh, relieved that his side wasn't hurting him anymore..

"I wish I wasn't always in shitty condition," Mical said. "Then I could use that more often." Charlie rubbed himself against Mical's arm. He patted him on the head. Then he leaned forward. "So what do you think of that animal gift? The thing the sand-people were talking about?"

Beth bit her lip. "I don't know. It's not really a surprise I have it. It explains a lot, but it's not like I can yell at a Krayt Dragon and not think that I have some sort of power."

"That doesn't really answer my question."

She was silent for a few moments, then said quietly "Don't tell the others. I'm weird enough without being able to talk to animals. I can see the jokes that'll come out of it."

"All right. I won't tell them." Charlie started tugging at Mical's hair. He pushed the cub's paws away patiently. "Hey, what am I doing with Charlie? Can we switch animals? I don't want this little guy to start playing with my eyes or something."

"What, you think I want to lose my eyes? They're bad enough as it is without having wampa claws in them." She patted Roger on the head.

"This makes two planets I hate. I nearly died on both multiple times."

"Ya, same here." Beth stretched. The healing had made even the stiffness vanish.

"Statement: Masters, my offer to kill the other meatbags is still up."

Beth lowered Roger onto the ground and stood. "No need HK."

"Objection: But master! They nearly killed you! I almost had to break the porkbag's jaw to get him off master Mical!"

"Yes well, I'm sure they had a good reason."

Mical stood, lowering Charlie onto the ground. "Statement: Are you two all right?"

Mical grinned. "Relatively undamaged. At least, I am now."

The others began to wake up with varying degrees of grace. Johnny accidentally kicked the embers of the fire and cursed. Justin got up, looking over the rest of the group.

"All right guys, now we move out," he started, but Beth interrupted.

"One problem," she said.

"And what's that?" Justin asked impatiently.

"The whole reason me and Mic dressed as sand-people was so we could sneak through more sand-people territory without dying."

"Oh, is that why?" Brennen said.

"Believe me Brezu, we had no intention being unfairly attacked over and over again," Mical said dryly.

"Go to Hell, Mical," Brennen snapped.

"I was joking, you touchy dipshit."

"Ya? Well don't. I'm sick of your crap."

"My crap? Say that to my face you miserable piece of–"

"Guys shut it!" Justin shouted. "This is no time for arguing! Ok, so we're gonna be walking through tusken territory?"

"Ya, but the disguise is useless now. The masks were burnt last night it seems." She poked at the remains of the fire.

"Ok, so what do we do?"

"We'll have to fight our way through now. There's nothing else we can do." She sighed.

"What? I thought you liked mindless fighting."

"Ya, but if we find a lot of sand-people, we may not get out of it alive." Suddenly she looked at Iziz. She'd only just noticed him. "And who the Hell are you?"

Iziz chattered at her furiously. Brennen, finally able to translate for them, said "His name is Iziz. Apparently he said that last night."

"I was passed out cold last night!"

"Oh ya..." The Jawa kept talking. Brennen frowned at him. "He says that some of his people were supposed to be in a sandcrawler somewhere nearby."

"Why?" Justin asked.

"He says there's a lot of scrapped vehicles around here. Swoops, landspeeders. They sell whatever they can scavenge."

"Ok," Justin said slowly. "So what's that got to do with us?"

"Well, we can hitch a ride with them. As long as Iziz is with us, it shouldn't be a problem."

"But it'll take us forever to find them! They could be anywhere around here!"

"Or they could be just over there," Johnny said, pointing.

They turned. And there, like an object sent from God, was the sandcrawler. Justin shook his head.

"All right, all right, let's just get over there before something else crazy happens." The group, finally reunited and healthy, ran to the sandcrawler. But once next to it, they were unsure how to proceed. They had no idea how to get on.

Beth stuck out her thumb. Brennen rolled his eyes.

"Beth, what are you doing?"

"Hitchhiking."

"That's not gonna work."

"Oh ya?" She smirked as the sandcrawler ground to a halt. "Seems to have worked."

"Shut up."

A ramp opened on the side. Two Jawas walked out.

"They wanna know what we're doing here," Brennen translated. Iziz, however, was already jabbering to them non-stop. The Jawas listened, then nodded and stepped back into the sandcrawler. Iziz gestured excitedly for the others to go in too, but Justin hesitated.

"How much will this cost us?" he asked suspiciously.

"A thousand credits to get back to town," Brennen translated.

"Oh. Ok, well that's not so bad. Beth, you still got the cash?"

Beth searched her pockets, then pulled out a fistful of cash. "Yep. I dumped my robe back at the Enclave, but took all my stuff out of it first."

"How'd you get out of that place anyway?"

She looked away. "I have my ways."

Brennen snorted. "Ya, she's been pretty quiet about that whole ordeal. I think it's a bit suspicious if you ask me."

Beth flared up immediately. "Ya? Well no one did ask you, so mind your own damn business!"

_What's she so mad about? _Justin wondered. He stepped between Brennen and Beth. "Guys, there's no time for arguing right now. In fact, I'd rather it if you just didn't argue, ever, but if you're going to, do it later!" He pointed inside of the sandcrawler. "Now get in!"

Brianna went first, dragging Brennen behind her. Johnny went next with Iziz, then HK, then Mira. Beth paused. Justin looked at her. She was looking away, across the desert. Mical watched her uneasily, and her wampa and gizka were staring at her, uncertain.

"Beth?" Justin said. She snapped to attention, then hurried onto the crawler. Roger and Charlie ran after her. Justin looked at Mical.

"What's wrong with her?" he asked. Mical glanced at him, but stayed silent and went after Beth. Justin shrugged and climbed on.

_Inside the sandcrawler..._

The Jawas arranged for them to have rooms, but Beth and Mical were already up and about, bored as usual. Charlie and Roger seemed worried about them leaving their rooms, but it would be four hours before they reached the town, and they weren't just going to sit around twiddling their thumbs till then.

Mostly though, they were just curious as to what the inside of a sandcrawler looked like.

Beth glanced through a door as they went by, and stopped so suddenly Mical walked into her back. She entered the room.

"Check it out," she said. "This must be where they keep their junk."

"At least, some of it. I'm sure there's more elsewhere," Mical pointed out. The room was full of droids, some repaired, all old and trashed up. There must have dozens of different kinds, utility, protocol, probably a few assassins...Beth walked up to a small pod shaped droid.

"Look at this thing! It looks like R2-D2!"

"Who's R2-D2?"

"Never mind." They kept exploring the room. Beth noticed what looked like some sort of furnace, and was drawn to it immediately. "What's this?"

There was a long conveyor belt leading to it. It wasn't hard to put two and two together. "Probably where they melt down scrap or whatever. Be careful around that Beth!" he called as she stepped in for a closer look. "Don't hurt yourself."

She peered at it, but it wasn't on so it didn't hold her attention for long. The two of them followed the conveyor belt to another machine. It looked like a giant box, but the belt went straight through it. Mical pressed a button on the side, and a giant square chunk of metal began moving up and down quickly. Beth threw a small piece of metal underneath it and it was squashed flat.

"A compactor?" she suggested. She stared at it. "Hey, I bet I could put my hand under it and move it before it got crushed!'

"Beth, don't you dare try." She grinned and moved her hand towards it experimentally. He grabbed her wrist. "I mean it Beth. I don't want you to lose a hand."

"What? Do you fear Jaise's wrath?"

"Yes, but I also don't want to see you get hurt. My Force heal can only do so much, you know." Mical turned off the machine. "I don't know what I'm gonna do with you sometimes."

"Can you let go of my hand now?"

"I don't think I should." But he released her.

"Thanks. Now let's see if I can do that hand thing!" At this Mical pulled her away from the machine.

The room wasn't very big, but it was plenty interesting. Charlie started chewing in the circuits of one the droids and got shocked. After that he stayed away from them. Mical laughed and said the cub was much like Beth, always trying stupid things. Beth shoved him into a pile of parts.

"Thanks." He pushed himself up. "Hey, look at this!" The two approached another machine. It looked like a square hole with a conveyor belt leading to another room. Beth squinted inside. It was too dark to see where it led.

"What is it?" Mical asked.

"No idea." She turned to him, leaning back and putting a hand on the immobile belt. "I can't see–"

She leaned back too far and hit a button on the wall. The belt suddenly started moving forward, and she was jerked back, too startled to move her arm. A giant blade, meant to cut through thick metal, slammed down on her right arm.

She shouted. Mical pulled her back. He stared in shock at her arm, which had been cut off almost at the shoulder. She put a hand over the end, thinking of trying to stop the bleeding.

"Shit Beth!" Mical exclaimed. "We gotta do something about that before you bleed to death!"

Beth blinked, confused. She was in shock. Mical dragged her off to find Jaise.

_Later..._

"Ok Beth, next time, keep you damn hands away from the equipment!"

Iziz had just finished installing a mechanical replacement for Beth's arm. Her face was white as paper, though whether that was from blood loss, the shock of losing her arm, or the painful installing of a new arm was unknown. Mical inspected the metal arm.

"Good thing the Jawas are such good mechanics. This could have been really bad Beth." Mical looked at her face. She made no comment on the matter.

"See Beth, this is why you stay in your room and stay out of trouble," Brennen lectured. Beth ignored him. Brennen frowned. "Why isn't she talking?"

Suddenly one of the Jawas walked in. He chattered cheerfully, holding a disembodied arm. One of the reasons Beth wasn't speaking was revealed then, because she turned her head and threw up on the ground.

Mical pushed the Jawa out the door. "Piss off you midget!" he snapped. He turned back to the others. After Beth had lost her arm, he'd rushed her to Jaise. Luckily, he was with Iziz who worked on installing first a piece of metal on the bloody stump to staunch the bleeding, and then a new arm. It had been excruciatingly painful, and Beth had shouted out a few times, which drew Brennen and Johnny to the room. Brennen had made some smartass comment about Beth being the one to put her arm inside a machine, but Mical had threatened him with death, and he'd shut up.

Beth had stopped puking and was looking at her arm. She was still quiet. Justin looked at Iziz worriedly.

"There isn't something wrong with her, is there?" he asked. The Jawa shrugged.

"No," Beth said quietly. Everyone looked at her, startled. It was the first noise she'd made since she'd stopped yelling. "It just burns."

"What, the shame?" Brennen joked. Mical started to reach for his lightsaber, and Brennen backed off.

"I guess it's to be expected," Justin said. "The pain I mean. How pleasant could having a piece of metal attached to you be?"

"Iziz says it'll stop hurting in a few days," Brennen said.

Charlie growled sadly, sitting next to her. Roger was hopping up and down, croaking. Mical grabbed him.

Justin sighed. "Well, I was hoping we'd get off here without anymore injuries, but I guess that was reaching for the stars a bit. I'll just settle with being glad you're aren't dead."

"Maybe we should go back to our rooms," Johnny suggested.

"Ya, come on," Brennen said. He and Johnny walked out. Justin started for the door, then turned and looked back at Beth. "You sure you're all right?" Beth nodded, not even looking at him. He walked out with Iziz.

"Beth?" Mical said softly.

"Don't worry buddy. I'm good." She looked at her arm. "It doesn't hurt too much. I just feel ridiculous."

"It was an accident. You didn't mean to–"

"Well, that's obvious. Who means to lose an arm?" She looked down at Charlie, who was tugging at her pants. She lifted him up. "All those safety videos I watched, all the times I just said "Ah, only an idiot would lose a limb to some machine" and look at me now." She stared at the dark metal, and opened and closed her fingers experimentally. "It's almost ironic."

She placed the wampa on the ground again and summoned a lightsaber to her artificial hand. She ignited it and swung it around. It worked the same as her old arm. She picked up a piece of metal off the ground and pressed it against her arm. She felt the pressure, but it didn't hurt. There was no pain.

She threw the metal away, and put her lightsaber back on her belt. "I hate this arm," she muttered. "Fake piece of shit.

_Elsewhere..._

"Man, that was a stupid move. I can't believe she chopped off her arm," Brennen said.

"She didn't do it purposely. Why are you so mad at her?" Johnny asked.

Brennen grunted. He had to admit, he was still a bit pissed about the whole tusken raider thing. But he also pissed off at her stupid friend Mical for being so protective, and her for not telling him to back off.

He walked into his room, leaving Johnny. Brianna jumped up. "What happened?"

"Beth got her arm caught in a machine."

"Is she ok?"

"Ya, she's fine. She got a metal one attached."

"Are you mad about something?"

Brennen paused. Was it that obvious? "It's nothing. I'm just tired." There were two beds in their room. He lied down on one of them. "Wake me when we get there."

_In Jaise's room..._

"...but she'll live. She's tough." Justin had just finished relating the story to Mira.

"Ooh, that must have sucked. Good thing she wasn't alone."

Justin had thought of that too. "Ya. Then it would've _really _sucked." He flopped down on one of the beds. "We wouldn't have found her for hours."

_One hour later..._

"Beth, are you sure we should be wondering about so soon?"

"Oh quit being such a whiner Mical. Arm or no, I'm bored. I'm not sitting around for another two hours."

"Fine, but if you lose another limb, Jaise will kill me."

"Look, if it sets your mind at ease, I won't touch any of the machines, all right?"

They had indeed set to wandering about again. Both were bored of sitting around, neither were sleepy, and even the two animals wanted to see the rest of the sandcrawler.

Charlie sniffed at the ground, then suddenly bared his teeth and ran down the hallway, letting out a baby wampa roar. Roger hopped after him. Not wanting to lose them, Beth and Mical chased after the beasts.

Charlie led them to another droid room, but these ones were all trashed up and broken. Charlie growled at one of the droids. Beth and Mical walked up to it.

Mical laughed, kneeling down to look at it. He poked it. "Come on Charlie, it's just an old medical droid! Even alive it wouldn't hurt–"

Suddenly a creature leaped out from behind the droid and latched onto Mical's face. He fell back, surprised. Beth ignited her saber and slashed at the creature, killing it instantly. Mical grabbed the dead animal and threw it away. Beth was laughing uncontrollably.

"Aw man, that was hilarious! You should have seen it!" She leaned forward, hands on her knees, laughing.

Charlie dragged the creature over to them with his stubby claws triumphantly. Mical looked at it. "It's a fucking womp rat. Bloody thing." He patted Charlie on the head.

Roger still seemed to think their was something interesting with the droid. He sniffed at it cautiously. Beth had finally laughed herself out and grabbed Roger.

"Come on guys. I think laughing at Mical until we reach the city will be my entertainment!"

_Two hours later..._

"Thanks for the ride!" Justin called.

"Ya, we really appreciate your help!" Johnny said.

The group walked back into town. Iziz followed them, accompanying them back.

When they reached their ship, Justin turned to the Jawa. "Thanks for helping us find out friends."

Iziz chattered a reply. They looked at Brennen.

"He says he wants to come with us." Brennen turned to Justin. "Well? Do we let him?"

Justin grinned. "Of course! Come on Iziz, let's get out of here!" They ran onto the ship. A few minutes later the ship took off. It was time to go to Korriban. And drink. What, you thought I forgot the booze? Hell no!

End Of Chapter 7


	8. Chapter 8

Knights Of The Old Republic Chapter 8– Misery On An Abandoned Rock

"All right Lorenti, this is your first space battle, so listen up. The mandalorians are pretty nuts, but we got three squadrons here, so there should be no problem, especially since one of those is led by Beth, and a second by Brezu."

"Woot!"

"Oh ya!"

Johnny flew his x-wing nervously. It was dubbed _Nose _by Beth because, well, x-wings had long noses. She was flying off the tip of his right wing in her a-wing, which she'd called _Dawg Fighter_. Brezu was on his left side in his b-wing, _Chicken Chaser_, and Jaise was ahead of him in _Flip And Kill_.

"Just remember Lorenti," Beth said, rolling over his ship. "If you get shot down, that's your ass. We can't help you."

"And don't let them blast your windshield," Brennen advised. "Explosive decompression you know."

"Guys, I know what I'm doing," Johnny snapped. "Quit giving me dumb advice."

"Hey, we got the same advice when we went to our first space fight."

"Beth, Brezu, shush," Justin said patiently. "Lorenti, they're just trying to scare you. They do it to everyone. Just keep close to me, I'll watch your back."

"Mandalorians at five o'clock!" Brennen said suddenly.

"It's twelve in the afternoon!" Beth said.

"Beth..." Brennen didn't even bother finishing the sentence.

"Ok guys, get ready! Time for battle!" Justin called.

"My squad's ready!" Beth told him.

"So's mine!" Brennen reported.

Beth and Brennen spun off to the side, their squadrons following. They expected part of the mandalorian ships to separate from their fleet to attack the two Jedi squads, and Johnny grinned as two thirds of the ships left the main group to attack Beth and Brennen. It left them weakened. He was still worried though.

"Jaise?"

"Don't worry Lorenti. Beth and Brezu are insane in their ships. You won't find two better squadrons anywhere."

"I'm not worried about them." He'd heard plenty about how they fought. Beth let only the borderline psychotic in her squad, and Brennen didn't allow for newbies in his. "We can win this right?"

"Oh ya. With few casualties I figure. Don't worry! You've practiced flying already, it's not like you've never done this before! You'll do fine."

Of course he didn't mention the fact that Beth and Brennen had already refused him when it came to putting him in a squadron. It was almost a compliment to be refused into Beth's, but he felt a bit lame that he'd been refused by his closest friends. He had a sneaking suspicion that Justin had let him in his out of pity. He really wasn't a very good pilot. Justin insisted that he was just new at this, but he remembered Beth smirking at his first flight. That had been the smirk of mockery, he was sure.

"Here we go!" Beth called over the comm cheerfully. "Let's show these bastards what were made of!"

"Flesh and blood?" Brennen asked.

"Damn straight!"

The two fleets clashed together. Johnny was amazed at the noise. The sound of blaster fire, explosions, and cheering over the radio. Johnny was so distracted by the sounds that he nearly crashed into an a-wing.

"Lorenti, pay attention to what you're doing!" Justin said.

Johnny fired his guns a few times, but he had no idea how he was expected to hit anyone. His enemies and allies flew in front of him wildly, blurring together. He didn't know if he was firing at his own, or the enemy. In the end, he decided to concentrate on just staying alive, and he could barely do that. A mandalorian flew straight at him, shooting. Panicking, he fired rapidly. The ship swerved out of the way, and Lorenti sighed, relieved.

The next few minutes were a blur of ships, explosions and blaster fire. He ducked, swerved, rolled and flipped, trying to survive. Suddenly he heard laughter on the comm.

"Lorenti! Your guns are gathering dust!" Beth called. "You're gonna be the first guy to come back from a space battle with a kill count of zero!" Johnny fumed as the rest of her squadron laughed. Crazy shits.

The battle ended abruptly. One second there were ships everywhere, being blown up or trying to blow up someone else. The next, nothing.

Beth's squadron cheered. Brennen's began to shout mocking statements at the dead mandalorians. Justin's were a bit more mature, but joined in on the ranting.

"Hey Lorenti, what was up with you?" Beth called as the three squadrons turned to go back to base.

"Ya, you didn't shoot a single mandalorian down," Brennen said.

"Shut up guys, maybe his guns were clogged," Justin said, sticking up for him.

"What, were you guys watching me or something?" Johnny snapped.

"Not that hard, you were the only one flying around doing shit-all," Beth shot back.

"Ya, I've seen womp rats kill more," Brennen added.

"Beth! Brennen! Enough!" Justin shouted. "Maybe flying just isn't his thing."

Johnny woke up. What the Hell had that been? He sat up. He remembered that battle. His first space mission. And one of his last.

Johnny had started sleeping in the communication's room after Justin had started his relationship with Mira. He'd heard Brennen had taken over the storage room with Brianna, and Beth had already taken the medbay, so his choices were limited. He'd thought of sharing the garage with Bao-Dur, but the Zabrak slept-walked his first night and had an old war dream. Johnny had to fight him off with a stick while Bao tried to strangle him, thinking he was a mandalorian.

He got up to go into the main hold. They were going to reach Korriban by the next day. They'd decided to save the drinking of the booze for later, because no one felt like getting tanked. And so, the past couple days had been shrouded in people keeping their mouths shut and looking as though they had secrets no one else was allowed to know. Mostly Beth, Brennen, Brianna and Mical.

Justin had been talking to everyone around the ship, mostly out of boredom, but also out of curiosity. It seemed he never wanted to stop learning. Johnny had seen him trying to share his knowledge with the other exiles, but Beth and Brennen ignored him, and Johnny was only mildly interested. Beth had told Justin she'd played the game and was not interested in crap she'd heard before, which drew weird looks all around. Brennen simply said he didn't care, and walked off with his girlfriend. Johnny listened for a little while, then made up an excuse to leave. In the end, Justin found talking to Iziz(with the translator nearby of course)to be much more fulfilling.

He walked into the main hold and found Beth in there, sitting at the table with her gizka Roger. She seemed to be talking to it, and listening patiently to his croaked responses. Johnny shook his head, bewildered. She'd been acting strange ever since they'd found her on Tatooine. She still talked a lot, but she also spoke to her animals as though they really had something to tell her.

"You ever heard of Korriban? Old Sith world. It's abandoned now. Nothing but corpses everywhere." Roger croaked. "This is your first time off Tatooine huh? Well, you'll be happy to get off that dump of a planet."

"Beth?" She jumped.

"Oh, hey Lorenti."

"Why're you talking to that thing?" He sat next to her, watching the gizka, which was on top of the table.

"That "thing" had a name, Roger, and I expect you to use it." She said it with much conviction.

"Whatever. Why're you talking to Roger then. I doubt he has much to say."

"You'd be surprised," she said softly.

"What?"

"Hmm? Oh nothing."

"Why are you awake? Pretty late."

"I know. It's my turn to sleep on the floor, and I wake up often in the night." She scratched Roger's head with her metallic hand. "I was thinking of finding another blanket to lie on in the night."

"At least you don't sleep in Communication's." Really, there wasn't anything wrong with it. The room was spacious, and wasn't used very often so he didn't have to worry about being disturbed in the middle of the night. But at least she wasn't alone in the room.

She stretched, yawning. "So what do you think we'll find on Korriban?"

"Dead Sith, what else?"

"Ya, but what about Sion?"

"What about him? We know what we have to do. Run."

"I don't know...I have a bad feeling that something catastrophic will happen on this planet."

"Something catastrophic always happens, and we always get out of with our lives intact and my hair smelling great."

"Your hair? That's obscure. Hey, what are you doing in Communication's anyway?" she asked suddenly.

"Did that statement only just go through your head? I'm in there because Justin and Mira have the cargo hold."

"Huh. Are they doing something weird in there?"

"No, but Mira bugs me."

"Does she? I never found her to be that bad."

"Well, maybe it's just the fact that Jaise got her and I didn't."

Beth frowned and looked at him. "You still mad about the whole who-got-who thing?"

"No, just the fact that everyone's in a relationship except me." He sat back, suddenly very tired. Beth waited, knowing he had more to say. "It's just, I don't get it! How did they manage to get all the chicks and leave me with shit-all!"

"Well, there's still Visas and Kreia."

"Oh shut up. I do not want Kreia."

"And Visas?"

"I don't know." He looked uncomfortable. Beth leaned forward.

"Listen man, don't rush this. You're young, you got your whole life ahead of you."

"Ya, but Jaise has already gotten laid, and you and Brezu are with someone, so–"

"No reason to rush. What's the point in running faster when the race has already been won?"

Johnny opened his mouth to object, then stared at her. "Beth, are you always so profound at night?"

"No, just when I'm tired, and you'd be the second one to ask."

They sat in silence for a few minutes, then suddenly Johnny asked

"Beth, what do woman want?"

"Sorry my friend, but I can only tell you what I want, and what I want is different from what the others want." She stood. "Anyway, I'm exhausted. I'm going back to bed. See you in the morning." She grabbed Roger and walked off to medbay.

"You'll give us the daily news right?"

She looked back at him and grinned. "Of course."

_Morning..._

"This is 99.3 Easy Beth, and no, that does not mean I'm a prostitute. We will reach Korriban in half an hour. Korriban is a desolate world with no life, which in a way makes it a loser, 'cause it, you know, has no life? Whatever. Great comedy is always lost on you people. Anyway, what a Jedi master is doing here is anyone's guess, well except mine because I've played the game assholes! But I don't want to spoil things for you, so this is Beth, signing off."

Justin stretched. He was already awake, and was sitting in the main hold with Brennen and Johnny. He sipped at his coffee. Korriban wasn't as lifeless as everyone(except the exiles of course)thought, and he wanted to be ready.

He'd had another weird dream the night before. He'd been fighting a battle against the mandalorians with Johnny. They'd won the battle, but it had been heavy with casualties. He'd been using Force heal like crazy, but there too many people, and not enough Jedi.

Beth walked past them, heading for Visas's room. Behind her trailed Charlie and Roger. Justin wondered what she was doing.

Beth had decided not to bring her animals onto the planet. She knew how dangerous it would be. Mical had agreed. He didn't know what she knew, but he didn't want the two critters put in any more danger.

Beth figured Visas would be the best one to ask to keep an eye on the cub and gizka. Kreia was a bitch, Atton was careless, Bao-Dur was going with them, and HK would probably get annoyed and shoot them. She'd thought of taking HK with them, but the last two planets he'd been on were full of havoc, and Beth wanted to give him a chance to chill out.

She reached Visas's room. "My life for yours," she whispered.

Beth paused, and frowned. "Uh, right. Anyway, I just wanted to see if you could watch Charlie and Roger for me."

"Ah...The wampa and gizka. Of course I will watch them. I will protect them with my life."

Beth was unsure what to say, thanks or calm down. In the end she just nodded, and crouched down to speak with the beasts. "All right Charlie, I know you're a bit timid, especially when me and Mical aren't around, but just be tough and you'll see it through. Roger, keep an eye on Charlie." She patted them on the head. Charlie growled, and Roger croaked an affirmative. She straightened up. "Thanks Visas."

"Of course." Visas sat down, meditating.

Beth walked back out to the main hold and sat down with the others. It was rare that the four exiles were alone.

"So what was that about?" Justin asked.

"Asking Visas to look after Charlie and Roger while we're on Korriban."

Brennen leaned forward. "Weird, isn't it?" he whispered. "Not so long ago we were in the real world, playing this game. Now look at us."

_Look at us indeed_. Justin thought. All holding lightsabers. All wearing Jedi robes, with the exception of Beth, who was still wearing sand-people clothing. And they were completely different people from who they'd once been. Justin was a leader, Beth a courageous risk-taker, Brennen a skilled fighter, Johnny a powerful Force user and warrior. Each had their own skills to brag about. Looking back, Justin was amazed at what, in only a month or so, they'd gone through.

_On Korriban..._

"Ok, remember, don't touch the corpses. Let just find Vash and get out."

"Well, don't forget about Sion."

"Beth, shut up."

Eight of them stood outside the ship. The four exiles obviously, but also Mira, Brianna, Mical, and Bao-Dur. Korriban truly was a desolate world. Nothing was growing, unless you counted the mountains and tombs carved out of stone. The tombs were huge, with a statue of the Sith lord it held outside each one. Unlike Dantooine however, that was merely boring as Hell, Korriban held something about it that made it seem ominous. Probably the souls of the hundreds of dead Sith lying all over the planet.

They started walking away from the ship. Justin took the lead, taking them to the Sith academy that he knew was there. They made sure not to touch any of the skeletal bodies, all that remained of the Sith from Korriban.

"Why are they dead? What killed them?" Brianna asked.

"Without a strong foe to face, the Sith turned on each other, fighting for leadership," Justin answered. "That's how Sith are. Always fighting for power."

"But why?" Brianna persisted. "Don't they realize they're wiping themselves out?"

"The Sith is a belief," Beth told her. "You can never wipe out a belief completely."

"Ya, but what if an enemy comes along that they have to face? What do they then?"

"There are always more Sith," Justin said. "There will always be people who want power, and when an enemy comes around, there are people to fight it, for good or for bad."

Beth, listening to the conversation, didn't pay attention to where she was stepping. There was a loud crunching noise. Everyone spun to face her.

Her foot was lodged in the rib cage of a dead Sith. She bit her lip, staring at her leg.

"Beth!" Justin hissed, but before he could say more a black, red-eyed dragon-like creature, about as long as a wampa was tall, appeared behind Beth. Everyone started backing away. Unaware of her danger, she looked at them, confused.

"What is it?" The beast snarled. She stiffened. "There's a Hssiss right behind me isn't there?" They nodded. She turned her head to look. It jumped up on it's back legs and roared, swiping a paw at her.

She jumped away, but her foot was stuck in the corpse, which was buried under a mound of sand. She fell, dodging the claws but not getting very far away.

Had she been alone, she would have been in trouble. But the seven others lunged forward. Five wielded lightsabers, though Bao and Brianna still had swords. But they were more then a match for the Hssiss. The dragon was slaughtered mercilessly.

"Are you all right?" Justin asked as Mical helped Beth get her foot out of the corpse.

"Ya I'm fine." She glared at the skeleton. "Piece of shit!" She kicked it.

"Beth no!" Too late. Another Hssiss appeared. They killed it quickly, but Justin gave Beth a nasty look. "Don't touch it again! And watch where you step!"

"Give me a break Jaise!" she said, exasperated. They started walking again. "Like I'm gonna step on the same corpse aga–"There was a crunch. She looked down. Then she grinned at Justin sheepishly.

Justin clenched his fists, shaking his head. "One of these days Beth..." They fought off a third Hssiss.

As you can probably guess, it took them awhile to reach the academy. But Beth eventually stopped stepping on corpses, and managed to help them when they finally did get to the academy.

"What are those?" Mira asked as they reached the entrance.

"Tuk'ata," Justin answered. "Some sort of Sith dog..."

There were many Tuk'ata at the entrance. Enough that they became worried about getting in the academy alive. The dog-like creatures snarled, baring their teeth. Beth stepped forward suddenly.

"Get out of the way, you dumb mutts," she snapped. "We have much to do, and we're gonna do it, whether you like it or not."

Justin rolled his eyes. Unbelievable. She was talking to animals. Like she actually expected them to move. But surprisingly the Tuk'ata stopped snarling. They looked at each other for a moment, then stepped aside. Beth walked forward immediately. Mical hurried after, as though this was nothing new. Justin stared at the others.

"This is new," he said.

"Actually, she did that to a Krayt Dragon on Tatooine too," Brennen said.

Justin shook his head and they followed Beth and Mical into the academy.

_In the academy..._

"Ok, Brennen, Brianna, Johnny and Bao go that way." Justin pointed to the left. "Me, Mira, Beth and Mical will go this way." He nodded to the right. "If something happens, scream. We'll come running, hopefully in time to save you. Got it?"

"Hopefully?" Brennen said. "Whatever. Got it."

"Ok. Now let's go!" The group split up and walked off.

Justin led them down the halls to the right. It led them to rooms that each held one bed and one foot drawer. Most were empty of belongings, but eventually they found a room that had a computer terminal of some sort.

Beth approached it immediately. She inspected it.

"What's it do?" Mical asked, walking up next to her.

"Relatively little," she answered. "There's some sort of test on it. You may have to pass it to do anything else with the terminal. Shouldn't be a problem." She set to answering the questions.

Justin suddenly heard something down the hallway. He looked over his shoulder, puzzled. "Hey Mical, come here, I think I heard something."

Mical, who'd been watching Beth take the test, walked over to him. "What?"

"I think I heard something. Come on, let's check it out." The two started down the hall.

Mira watched them leave, then suddenly turned to Beth. "So...What do you think of Jaise?"

Only half-listening, she glanced up. "Huh? Oh. Well, he's my brother." She looked back at the screen.

Mira rolled her eyes. "Well, duh, but do you think he and I are, you know, good together?"

Once again, she wasn't really listening. "Huh? Oh. Ya, I suppose."

"You're not much for conversation are you?" She grinned wickedly. "You busy thinking about a certain...someone?"

Beth wasn't fazed. "Nah. He's not on my mind 24/7. I'm guessing you mean Mical. Anyway, I'd be more interesting but I'm trying to concentrate, and I'm afraid concentrating takes my full concentration."

"How hard can it be to read and talk at the same time?"

"How hard can it be to shut up and leave me alone at the same time?"

"Ooh, touchy. It seems I may have touched a nerve. Does it have anything to do with Mical?"

"I was hoping you'd be less feminine then this."

"Jaise doesn't." She smirked at the implication. Beth made no comment and continued working. Mira shook her head. It was definitely entertaining to poke fun at Beth. She'd have to remember that.

Justin and Mical walked cautiously down the corridor. As Mical looked cautiously around a corner, Justin said "So you actually like my sister or what?"

"What?" Mical turned back to him. "Ya. She's nice, although a bit idiotic sometimes."

"A bit idiotic?"

"Ok, really idiotic. I think she means well though. She doesn't seem intent on causing harm to anyone. Or anything."

"Well, you'd better not hurt her in any way. I mean it. I can be very dangerous." He cracked his knuckles.

"Have I ever given you the impression I want to hurt your sister? Besides, I have the feeling she'd do enough damage to me before you could jump in."

"Ya well, just watch yourself."

"Is this why you dragged me down this hallway? To lecture me?"

"No. I did actually hear something. Just thought I'd mention that."

"Well, don't worry. I don't intend to suddenly dump Beth for some prostitute." They continued down the corridor. Mical had never noticed how big Jaise was before. He himself was pretty strong, but he wasn't too sure he could take him should a fight arise.

Brennen and Johnny had a rock paper scissors game over who would lead. Johnny won, and he and Bao-Dur took them down the left hall. There were a bunch of rooms, all empty except for a bed and a foot drawer. In fact, it was a damn boring hallway, and would have continued to be as such if Brennen didn't suddenly hear something.

He turned, frowning. "You hear that?" he asked the others. Johnny stopped to look.

"No..." He listened. Then suddenly he ignited his lightsaber. "Yes."

Three Sith, dressed in all black, lunged from the shadows, swinging red lightsabers. Brianna screamed. Brennen spun, thinking she was being attacked. One of the Sith slashed out, cutting his left hand off at the wrist. He shouted, falling to his knees.

"Brezu!" Brianna screamed, rushing to his side. Johnny fought like a demon, driving the Sith back but not away.

Brennen was livid with pain. _Now I know how Beth felt when she lost her arm._ He thought. He rolled his lightsaber over to Brianna. "Use this," he said, voice thick with agony. "Lorenti can't beat them on his own."

Brianna took the lightsaber. She ignited both ends, then stepped next to Johnny. He glanced at her, hoping she could fight.

Bao-Dur ran forward and dragged Brennen farther away from the fight. He only had a sword, which would nothing against a lightsaber.

Johnny threatened two of the Sith with his saber. They stepped back out of range. He grinned. He loved doing this. He doubled the length of the weapon, stabbing one in the face. He swung it to slash at the other one, but even surprised the man's reflexes were great. He ducked and rushed to stab him. Johnny shortened the saber again and parried the shot. He slid his lightsaber down the blade of the Sith's, and slashed at the hilt. He missed, cutting the Sith's fingers instead. It ended up having the same effect, as he dropped his weapon, screaming from pain. Johnny slashed off his head, finishing the job.

Brianna was unsure how to use a lightsaber, especially a double-bladed one. She turned off one end, so it was more like a single-blade. The Sith sensed her uncertainty and grinned. This would be a cinch. He leaped at her, slashing at her. She blocked the hit, but he held it, trying to push the blade towards her face. She struggled, trying to stop him, but he was stronger then she was. She had a sudden flashback to when she was Tatooine, and screamed.

Bao-Dur whipped out his sword and stabbed it over her shoulder. The man didn't notice until it was too late, and Bao stabbed right through his head. Brianna crumpled, and Bao-Dur looked at her, surprised.

"Are you all right? Did he hurt you?" he asked. She was crying, but she shook her head.

"I'm fine. Really. I just..." She trailed off. Bao-Dur decided to leave her alone.

"Shit Brezu, look at your hand!" Johnny exclaimed. Brennen forced himself to rise, straining not to yell. He held his wrist tightly.

"We gotta find the others," he said stiffly. The other three nodded, and they ran back down the hallway. Five Sith followed them from behind.

Justin and Mical looked up at the screams. They were coming from the left side of the academy. "What the Hell's going on?" Mical said.

"Let's check it out," Justin said.

The two started to go investigate the screams, but suddenly a voice behind them said "You should be more worried about yourselves."

Justin felt a piercing pain in his gut. He looked down, and saw a red lightsaber blade sticking out of his shirt. "Oh Jesus," he whispered.

Mical stared at the blade. "Shit!" He spun, lightsaber out and slashing. He heard someone yell back where he'd left Beth and Mira and hoped they were all right.

Beth was still working on the computer when Mira screamed suddenly and fell to her knees, clutching her stomach. Beth stared at her.

"Mira? What's wrong?" Beth had no idea what to do.

"It's...It's Jaise...Something's happened." She groaned. Beth looked around.

"Shit! They left didn't they!" She started off, then stopped, looking at Mira. _Shit. I can't_ _just leave her here. _She thought. Beth considered, then lifted her up. She was much heavier then a wampa or gizka, but Beth had to move her somehow, and dragging her wasn't going to work.

She ran down the hallway, not as fast as she would have been normally because of her burden, and so she arrived too late. She found two dead Sith lying on the ground. She looked around quickly. "Mical?" she called. "Jaise?" She heard something to her left. It led to the first room they'd been in. "Shit," she muttered. She ran towards the sounds.

She entered the room, and it took her a few seconds to take everything in. Justin was lying on the ground, and Mira jumped out of her arms and rushed over to him. Johnny, Brennen, Brianna and Bao-Dur were crouched on the ground, surrounded by five Sith. And two more of them had thrown Mical down in front of a man with cracked, grey skin and a single eye. Sion.

However, that wasn't her first concern. "Mical!" she shouted. She ran towards him. Sion threw out a hand, and suddenly she slammed into something. He'd created an invisible barrier of some sort.

Sion laughed at her cruelly. "Does this human mean something to you?" he growled. He turned to Mical.

Beth tried to compose herself. "No. Of course not. Just some guy I know."

He looked at her humorously. "Oh? Then why did you call out his name out of all the others?"

"First one I saw," she lied.

He laughed. "Then this won't bother you?" He put out a hand slowly. Beth bristled, but said nothing. _Don't you dare do it you shitbag, don't you dare..._

He paused, then suddenly lightning flew from his fingertips. Mical screamed. Beth jerked, but tried to stop herself. _Don't let him know you care..._

Sion stopped, but left his hand out. Mical gasped, down on his hands and knees. "So this doesn't bother you at all?" he said with cold humor.

"Nope," she said, hoping he'd miss the note of hate.

Maybe he did, maybe he didn't, it didn't matter. Lightning came of his hand again, and Mical screamed again. This time Beth tried instinctively to leap at Sion, but slammed into the barrier. Sion laughed, and stopped the lightning again. Mical panted, breathless, and sagged down, almost lying on the ground.

"I thought you didn't care," he laughed.

"You're a sick man, Sion," Beth snarled.

"I will break you," he hissed. "Just as she broke me!" Lightning flew out of his hand again, more then before. Mical screamed loudly, and this time Sion didn't stop. Beth felt hate rise in her like a wildfire. She clenched her fists tightly. She lowered her head, gritting her teeth. She felt her power flowing through her, but not the Force. Her eyes darkened.

Far off in the Ebon Hawk, Charlie and Roger awoke from their nap. Both began crying out, and tried to run from the room. Visas grabbed them both, and they fought like rabid animals, trying to get out of her grip.

"What is the matter with you two?" she grunted.

Back in the academy, Sion was laughing, lightning still flying from his fingers. Mira had looked away angrily, Brianna's face had gone stark white, Brennen was looking determinably at the ground, and Bao-Dur and Johnny were staring at the wall. They couldn't block out Mical's screams however. Even the Sith were starting to look sick.

Beth's eyes darkened to black. Suddenly one of the Sith yelled "What the–" And then a gurgle.

Sion spun, cutting off the lightning. Mical collapsed on the ground. The Tuk'ata rushed into the room, dozens of them, and ripped the Sith apart. They didn't even have time to raise their weapons. The beasts were no match for Sion though. He grabbed one right out of the air and snapped it's neck.

The barrier was gone. Beth lunged at Sion while his back was turned. She ignited her lightsabers and stabbed him.

Sion spun, smashing her across the face. She reeled back, but was too angry to care about pain. She barely noticed that he wasn't at all hurt from the lightsaber wound. It had healed right away.

She slashed at him again, anger making her strong, but sloppy. She didn't hit him again after the first shot, but she didn't stop trying. All sense was gone. Justin called out to her.

"Beth! Come on, we gotta get out of here!" He was standing again, holding his gut, healing himself. The others gathered around him, watching Beth nervously. "Beth! Grab Mical and let's go!"

She turned. Mical was forcing himself up with his hands. His clothes were smoking from the lightning. The sight made her more angry, and she turned back to Sion.

"Beth! You can't beat him!" Justin ran forward, healing Mical. "Come on!"

"Piss off," she growled, glaring at Sion. He laughed at her coldly.

Mical got up tiredly. He stumbled forward and grabbed her arm. Her head shot toward him angrily, and then she saw who it was. She calmed down slightly and turned to run away with the others. The eight left the academy.

They were halfway down the path when suddenly Mira stopped.

"We never found Vash."

"She's dead," Brennen said, holding his wrist.

"How do you know?"

"I just do all right?!" he snapped. His wrist really hurt.

"Shit buddy, what happened?" Justin asked. "Did Kreia start a fad or something when she lost her hand?"

"Shut up," he growled. "It got chopped off in the last battle."

"Come on," Justin said. He looked at the rest of the group, all tired, sore, injured. Beth and Mical were whispering quietly to each other. Brianna was trying her best to comfort Brennen, who was in a foul mood because of the whole lost-his-hand thing. He shook his head. "Let's get back to the ship and rest. Iziz can probably invent a new hand for you Brezu."

"What about the Shyrack cave?" Johnny said.

"Maybe we should handle that tomorrow," Justin said quickly. Half his group looked miserable. "Let's move out." He led them back to the Ebon Hawk.

_In the ship..._

"And what happened to you?" Atton said. Beth and Mical shoved past him, heading straight for their room. Brianna dragged Brennen to Iziz. Justin followed them anxiously, which meant Mira followed. Bao-Dur walked off without a word, and Atton turned to Johnny.

"Well?" he asked.

Johnny made a face. "A lot of bad crap."

Iziz immediately began building a metallic hand for Brennen. He wasn't in as much of a hurry as when he'd been making an arm for Beth, because Brennen wasn't in danger of bleeding to death.

It was attaching it that was painful. Brennen managed to keep from shouting, but it was a close thing. _Shit this does hurt. _He thought. Brianna was standing next to him, but didn't watch the hand being attached. It obviously disgusted her. Justin was there too, but he merely leaned againt the wall and remained silent. Mira stood next to him.

It took about half an hour to attach the hand. Brennen tried it out at once, using Force push and pull, then took out his lightsaber and swung it around. He looked at the hand. "Sweet," he muttered. "Thanks Iziz."

"Does it hurt?" Justin asked.

"Ya, sorta. But Beth said her arm stopped hurting after a day or so."

Brianna looked at the hand. Brennen glanced at her. "And you probably think it's ugly right?"

"No..." she said softly. "It's just...weird."

"You'll get over it," he said as they walked off to the storage hold.

"You all right now Mical?" Beth asked.

"Ya, Jaise healed me in the academy." He turned to her. "Are you all right?"

"Ya. I wasn't even hurt."

"No, but you went crazy during the battle."

"He was hurting you." She looked away.

"I thought you didn't care," he joked softly.

"Not funny. Not even a bit."

"Sorry. Were you the one who summoned the Tuk'ata?"

"Ya...Sorta sub-consciously. I was getting all fired up, and then I think I blacked out for a second...Next thing I know the things are all over the place."

"They didn't attack any of us. I noticed that."

"Well, no. I told them not to."

"Really? How? You weren't speaking."

"Look, I don't understand it myself. I just–" Visas walked in the room.

"How long have you been there?" Beth demanded. She did not have any patience anymore.

"I did not wait outside your door. I heard nothing. And if I did, I would not repeat it. I merely came to give you back your animals."

At this Charlie and Roger ran in. Beth grabbed the cub, and Mical picked up the gizka.

"Thanks Visas," Beth said, stroking the wampa's face. "I owe you one."

"I already owe you my life. You do not owe me anything." And with that she walked off.

"That is one really weird woman," Mical said. He rubbed Roger's ears. "Hey little buddy! You miss us?" Roger croaked.

Beth frowned. Mical noticed. "What? Did he say something?"

"Ya...Apparently he heard me calling from the academy."

"That's some serious range you've got going there. All the way from the ship? I wonder if anything else heard you."

"The Hssiss perhaps?" She shook her head. "I don't understand myself any better then I understand, uh, I don't know, pants. This power makes things really difficult."

Brennen and Brianna walked by the room. Beth glanced over and caught a glimpse of Brennen's new hand.

"Looks like Brezu got his new metal hand," Mical said.

"Unlucky bastard." Beth glared at her arm.

"What do you have against the arm?"

"It pisses me off. It's just a sign of my own carelessness."

"Or a reminder to be careful in the future."

She shrugged.

Atton walked up to Johnny in Communicaion's. "So do we take off?"

"Not yet," Johnny said. "We still got stuff left to do."

"All right. Hey, so what exactly happened out there?"

"Brezu lost his hand, Beth lost her mind, and I have pants."

"Pants? That's obscure." He shook his head. "Well, we may as well get some rest then."

"Ya..." Atton walked out of the room. Johnny yawned and stretched. He really was exhausted. He lied down on his makeshift bed of blankets and went to sleep.

_The next day..._

"Ok, everyone ready?" Justin asked. The others nodded. "Good. We're going to the Shyrack caves. I noticed them as I was walking up the path yesterday. I'd like to say we're just going to go in, check them out, and then leave, but it seems that is never the case with us. Anyway, let's MOVE OUT!!"

The seven set off again. Bao-Dur was staying back this time because he'd lost his sword in the academy and they didn't have any spare weapons. Justin expected at least an easy journey to the cave. But then he heard a crunch. He spun, and saw Beth at the back of the group with Mical.

And her foot was on top of a crushed skull. And Justin noticed this crushed skull was attached to a body. One with crushed robs.

"Beth, is that the same corpse you stepped on yesterday?" Justin asked testily.

"Whoops." She grinned sheepishly.

Three Hssiss appeared out of the air. The seven of them killed them without trouble, but Justin was getting sick of killing them. After the last one was slaughtered, he turned to Beth.

"You do that _one more time _and you're not coming. You keep this up and we'll be dead before we reach the caves."

"We could just carry her," Brennen said, grinning.

"We could also not." He started forward again. "Now come on. We–" Crunch. He looked down. He'd stepped on another Sith corpse. "You gotta be shitting me..."

A Hssiss popped out of thin air. Justin slashed off it's head, almost casually, and stepped around the skeleton. "Ok, let's pretend that didn't happen. Now let's go."

They reached the cave without anymore trouble, unless you counted the time when Beth stepped on a corpse again. Justin had threatened to behead her, but she'd merely walked around him and continued on to the caves. He'd been too stunned to continue his lecture, and they'd merely walked on.

When they reached the cave, Beth stepped back. "Dude, this cave stinks like ass." She pulled her shirt up over her nose.

Justin rolled his eyes. "Beth, it's just the smell of– Oh God, it really does stink." He pulled back from the entrance.

Eventually they got up the guts to go in. But it didn't get any easier from there.

Mostly because they got lost.

"Shit I'm tired of getting lost in dark caves," Justin exclaimed. Suddenly they heard a quiet thumping noise. "What was that?"

"Maybe it was a ghost," Beth said, glancing down one hallway.

"Oh please," Brennen said. "There's no such thing as SHIT IT'S GOT ME!!"

They spun. Something had grabbed the back of Brennen's robe and seemed to be trying to pull him away. Brennen struggled to get the thing to let go. For a moment the others stared, bewildered. Then Justin laughed.

"It's just a shyrack," he called over Brennen's cries. "Nothing too dangerous."

"Get it off me!" Brennen shouted. He started running about like a chicken with it's head cut off. He ran past Johnny who slashed off the shyrack's head with his lightsaber. The body slumped over Brennen's shoulder and it's blood spilled over his robes.

"Aw gross!" he complained. He threw the corpse off.

"Well that was vaguely entertaining," Beth commented.

"Come on guys," Justin said. He led on another long trek through the caves, killing shyracks along the way. Finally they came to a large, open area. There was huge split in the middle, too wide for any of them jump any more then a quarter of the way across. Luckily, there was bridge of stone that led over it. It was very thin though, only wide enough for them to walk single file.

Beth walked shakily to the edge, glanced into the fissure, then shrunk back.

"What's wrong?" Justin asked.

She bit her lip. "I told you before."

"What?"

"I'm scared of heights."

Suddenly Justin remembered Peragus, where Beth had been hesitant to even walk into an elevator. "Come on Beth, you won't fall." Justin started to walk across the bridge. The others followed quickly, except Beth, who hung back for a moment. But she too went across in the end.

Justin had only gone halfway when suddenly he heard a roar. A huge creature bounded towards them, nearing the bridge. "Shit!" Justin exclaimed.

Beth heard the roar. She knew what it was, a Terentatek, a creature that was almost immune to Force powers. She shut her eyes and let her power flow again, like in the academy. Only this time, she wasn't too angry to limit it. _Get out of here. _She thought. _Piss off, you pitiful excuse for an animal. We have much to do right now._

The Terentatek paused. Justin frowned.

Suddenly Beth heard a deep, rough voice in her head. _Look Jedi, I don't how you're talking to me, but I don't care. I have to eat just like everything else around here, and I'm tired of eating those bloody shyracks. They taste like the crap they pump out._

The Terentatek wasn't moving. Justin stared at it. It looked like it had blanked out.

Beth decided to be nice to it, instead of threatening it like she usually did. _I can sympathize with you there buddy. I've been flying on a ship with limited food. It has stuff put into it so it doesn't go bad, but it tastes like it's been eaten already._

The Terentatek almost looked like it was considering something.

_Listen female, I will let you go if you let me eat one of you. There are seven of you. One less will make no difference._

"What's going on?" Johnny whispered. Mical turned to look at Beth. She was staring off into the distance. He frowned. Was it just his imagination, or were her eyes darker then usual?

_No deal. You will let us all go. You let us pass, and we will not harm you. That's the deal._

_You think you can hurt me?! I am Killclaw, the strongest Terentatek to ever walk this planet!_

_That's the deal. Take it or leave it, but if you leave it, you will not live to eat another shyrack._

He thought a moment. _Fine. I will allow you to pass. Bloody human._

Justin stared. The Terentatek was backing off. It slowly stepped off the bridge and stood to the side. Justin ignited his lightsaber, but suddenly Beth Force jumped in front of him.

"Don't hurt him!" she said, holding up her hands. "Let's just...Let's just go."

"Beth, he's— How do you know it's a he?" Justin was bewildered.

"Look, let's– Just come on." She led them off the bridge, then she stood about a meter away from the creature, making sure no one tried to attack. Mical, being the last one off, was the only one to hear her whisper "I held up my end of the deal. You'd better hold up yours!'

Justin took the lead once again and took them along the left side of the cave. Justin glanced back once in time to see the Terentatek run back into the shadows. _Why did it back off? _He wondered.

Suddenly they came across an opening in the wall. There was some sort of purplish mist drifting about near the ground. Justin squinted inside. It got too dark to see very far inside. However, he recognized it immediately.

He turned to the others. "Only me, Brezu, Beth and Lorenti can go in here. You guys, either wait here or go back to the ship. It's your choice."

"I'm staying," Mira said right away. The other two nodded their agreement.

"All right then." Justin faced the opening again. The other three stood next to him. "Let's go."

The four walked into the cave. But they weren't together for long. It became very dark, and Justin looked around. He couldn't see anything. "Guys?" he whispered. Nothing. He looked back. He frowned. He hadn't walked so far from the cave opening that he shouldn't be able to see out, but he was completely surrounded by blackness. He ran forward again. It was scary that it was so dark. He didn't understand it.

Suddenly the darkness was gone, and he was standing in another room. He looked around. There were only two doors, one behind him and one in front of him. He tried the one behind him first, but it wouldn't open and was resilient to his lightsaber. He turned to the other door. This one opened, revealing a long hallway. He ran down it, wondering where his friends had gone. Had they gone a different way? Could there have been more then one way to go? He had been unaware of any walls or doors.

He came upon another door. He opened it and walked in. It was another room, with another door. He tried it, but it wouldn't open. He frowned and turned around.

Brianna stood there.

"Brianna!" Justin said, surprised. "What are you doing here?"

She approached him slowly. Were her eyes always like that? So creepy. "I came to see you," she said quietly. She was standing very close.

"O-Oh, really?" He didn't like this. Something was about to happen, and he didn't want to be here when it did.

"Oh don't be a fool," she said. She reached out and took his hand. "You know I've always loved you. And you feel the same way about me. Ever since that night..."

Justin shivered, taking his hand away. Was it true? Did he really feel that way? What about Mira? Didn't he love her?

"M-Maybe you s-should go back to Brezu," he stuttered.

Brianna suddenly leaped forward and kissed him. He was so surprised that for a moment he did nothing. He saw her eyes, so strange, so dead...He shoved her away, disgusted.

"You should be faithful to Brezu!" he snapped. "And if you're not going to be, then be unfaithful with someone else! I don't want to hurt Brezu again!"

"Don't be such a spineless worm!" she hissed. "You're just making excuses!"

God, her eyes. So dead...

"Brianna, we can't be together," Justin said. "I love Mira." Didn't he? "And Brezu loves you..."

Abruptly she ignited her lightsaber. "Shit!" She swung at him. He ignited his lightsaber, and slashed. She didn't block fast enough, and the blade went straight through her neck. She froze, stunned, and then faded away. Justin blinked.

"She wasn't real?" he muttered. "Then what was she..." He thought back to the game. The exile in the game had seem holograms, or hallucinations from the past, the present...Was that what he was seeing? Something from his mind?

"Does that make it true then?" he wondered. He shook his head, confused. The door next to him opened. Another long hallway. He ran down it, confused and worried.

Beth stumbled out of the strange darkness and fell into a room. She leaped up, lightsabers out. But there was nothing there. She frowned, turned to look where she'd come through. There was a door there. She approached it, trying to open it. It didn't budge. She turned around again.

A Tuk'ata sat in the corner of the room, next to a computer terminal. The tuk'ata stood, snarling.

"Quiet!" she snapped. The animal silenced immediately, and sat back down. She inspected the terminal. It read that she needed a password to pass through the next door. She looked at it. "What do I look like, a hacker?" she growled. She thought for a moment. _Now, if I made a password, what would I make it? _She started typing in old passwords she'd had before in random shit. She started off with Chester, but it was wrong. She typed Lakitu. Wrong. She tried Beth. That wasn't it either. Finally, she thought of her most recent password. Bloodmoon.

The door opened. She stared at it, amazed. She didn't understand why her own password would work on this thing. She nodded to the tuk'ata and ran through the door. It led down a long hallway that ended in a door. It opened, and she walked through. This room was empty too, but there was a door on one side of the room. She went towards it, but it didn't open.

"Son of a bitch," she muttered. She heard footsteps behind her. She spun, lightsabers out and ignited.

It was Mical.

"Mical?" Beth frowned. "What are you doing here?"

He smiled coldly. Beth shivered. She'd never seen him smile like that. "I came to talk to you," he said. He stepped forward slowly. Beth backed away. Something was wrong here. She could feel it. Why were his eyes like that?

"What do you want?" she asked. He stopped, and grinned.

"It was all out of pity you know," he whispered. Beth's brow furrowed out of confusion. "I never really wanted to be with you. I just felt bad for you."

"What?" she said quietly. What was he talking about?

"You think I want to be in a relationship with you? No. I just felt bad for you. But no more." He smirked.

Beth was unsure what to say. Then she shook her head. "All right then. I don't care." Which was a lie, but she wasn't about to fall to her knees and beg for him to take her back. She turned back to the door, and made a swiping motion with her hands. The door opened, leading to a hallway. She heard a lightsaber ignite behind her. She spun in time to see Mical leap at her, lightsaber swinging.

She jumped back, landing farther down the corridor. She tripped over a loose piece of stone and fell. Mical laughed, coldly and cruelly. Beth didn't understand. Usually when she tripped, which was often, people laughed, but not so mockingly, not so cruel. She stood.

"Look Mical, I can understand if you don't want to be my boyfriend, but you don't have to kill me!"

"Don't I?" His voice was so unnatural. And damn his eyes looked weird.

"No buddy, you really don't."

He let out a battle cry and lunged at her. She barely raised her lightsabers in time to block. He only had a single saber, but he was a damn skilled fighter. He parried and countered every shot, occasionally leaving a slash wound across her arm or leg. Perhaps she would have done better if she'd been trying to kill him, but she was hesitant to do so. Even though he seemed intent on destroying her, she still considered him a friend, and was unwilling to fight him to her full extent. Finally, she screamed, throwing him back into the room.

She walked in slowly. Mical stood up, grinning coolly.

"So you _do _have some fight in you," he hissed. Beth bristled.

"Mical, I don't want to kill you."

"Then you will die!" He threw out a hand and Beth flew back into the wall, and stayed there, pinned.

"I learned that trick on Tatooine," he said coldly. Beth struggled to move, but it was impossible. "Feel free to try and get away. It will not work."

_This may be the end. _She thought. Suddenly she remembered the Tuk'ata. _Can I call him?_

She let her power flow through her again, just like with the Terentatek. She reached out, trying to feel for the Tuk'ata. She wasn't sure how she was doing it, but then she felt him. The Sith dog.

_Come here! Now! _

_I'm coming! _It was strange to hear the animals in her mind. The Tuk'ata had a clearer voice then the Terentatek. Mical paused.

"What are you smiling about?" he demanded.

Suddenly there was a howl, and the Tuk'ata lunged at Mical. He spun to face it, and Beth fell from the wall. Mical stabbed the Tuk'ata, then turned back to her. He parried both her blades, then kicked her back. She landed a few feet away, and he charged at her, slashing. She Force jumped over him, but went too high and crashed into the roof. She slammed on the ground.

"Goddamn it, second time," she muttered. She stood up, and Mical slashed at her again. She dodged it, but it cut along her shoulder. Not deep, but it was painful. She jumped to the side, trying to gain better footing, but Mical attacked again and again, not allowing her to gather her thoughts or get her bearings.

He smashed at her hand. Surprised, she moved her hand just enough that instead of slashing her hand, he broke her lightsaber. Beth dropped the useless hilt. She wasn't used to fighting with a single blade, so she had a harder time parrying all the shots. By this time she had started fighting offensively, but Mical was a great fighter. She screamed again, and he flew back.

She panted. Mical wasn't even tired. He stood again, and laughed. _How is this possible? _She thought. _He must be getting tired. He must be able to be worn down. No real person could have this much endurance._

"Getting tired Beth?" Mical hissed. "Ya, I see you are. Just like I'm tired of you."

She'd always worried about this sort of thing. That Mical hadn't really liked her, had only become her boyfriend out of pity...Why were his eyes like that? She was exhausted, and sore all over from the various cuts and slashes. Lightsabers made very painful wounds. She was about to pass out from exhaustion. Her thoughts were jumping about in her head, random things flying through her mind. _No real person can be this strong, what's wrong with his eyes, why doesn't he sound like himself, why would he kill me for no reason..._

He approached her slowly. She tried to catch her breath. "You will die this day, Beth, and my shame will have ended." He said this quietly, seething. "They will never know what happened to you. They will come out of the cave, but you will not. Seven people enter the cave, only six leave..."

_Only six leave..._Why did that thought run through her mind?

Mical held his lightsaber near her face. "Are you ready to die now Beth?"

_Weird eyes...Lifeless eyes...No real person should be this strong...She'd always worried about this sort of this thing..._The lightsaber swung back. She suddenly slashed upwards with her weapon. She stabbed him up through his chin and out the back of his head. He had a look of shock on his face, and then disappeared.

Beth froze, lightsaber still in the air. _He wasn't real. It was a hologram or something. _She fell to one knee, exhausted, sore. This whole place...In a way, she'd made it. It was all from her mind. She thought of the Tuk'ata, the password, Mical saying she was with her out of pity, just like she'd always feared. She couldn't help but wonder, though, if it was true. What if Mical _was_ with her out of pity?

"Shit, it ain't true," she growled. But she couldn't help but wonder.

She straightened up again and headed down the hallway she'd opened before.

Brennen stepped out of the darkness and hesitated. The room was empty, except for a door in the side of the room. He turned slowly, and tried the door he'd come through. It was locked or something, and wouldn't open. He turned back, and there was a terminal in the corner of the room, next to the door.

He blinked, confused. That hadn't been there before had it? He approached it slowly. He looked at it. The words were in alien dialect. He was pretty sure it was Hutt. He deciphered it. It merely told him to type in a certain word. He typed it in. Then it changed languages. This time it was Selkath. Yet again it told him to type something. This went on for a while. Finally the door next to him opened.

"Well that was easy," he said. He walked through, and then down a long hallway which ended in a door. It opened and he went through. This room was empty too, but there was a door on the other side of the room. He ran over to it and tried to open it. It didn't budge. He turned.

Beth and Justin stood there.

"Oh, there you guys are. Where's Lorenti?"

They were silent. Brennen frowned. "Guys?"

Beth and Justin stepped over slowly. They stopped a few feet away.

Brennen was getting creeped out. His hand began instinctively edging toward his weapon. "Where were you? I lost you in the cave."

"I was busy fucking your girlfriend," Justin said. He laughed. Brennen felt his blood chill at the laugh, but also boil at the thought of Justin screwing Brianna.

"And I was off getting myself killed, so I could bitch at you for helping me," Beth said, grinning cruelly. Brennen glared at her.

"Look guys, I don't feel like fighting right now," he said angrily, seething with rage.

The two began circling around him slowly. Both were grinning like evil creatures. Brennen frowned. Damn their eyes were strange.

"You hate us for what we did, don't you?" Justin said menacingly. "You want revenge. You want to get us back for those things. Well, here's your chance." He ignited his lightsaber. Brennen stared. He'd never wanted to kill them...Right?

"Unless you're scared," Beth said with cold humor. "Unless you think we're too powerful for you. Then you can go running back to your whore of a girlfriend."

"She's not a whore!" Brennen yelled.

"Well she sure gets around doesn't she? Justin, that man on Tatooine, and Lord knows who else. But she hasn't fucked you has she? She doesn't seem too interested in you."

This made Brennen hesitate, but he shook his head. "She didn't mean for that to happen," he muttered.

"What makes you think that? What makes you think she wants you?" Justin said.

Brennen looked at the two. Why were they acting like this? Was it because they figured no one would know that they were challenging him, or saying bad shit about his girlfriend? Beth turned on her lightsabers.

"Will you fight us?" she asked. "Or will you run?"

Brennen held out his lightsaber. He ignited one end, and then the other. "I will fight."

They dived at him, one after another. Justin slammed down his saber, and Brennen blocked it, then flipped his saber in a circle, knocking him away. Beth slashed at his face. He smashed the lightsaber out of her hand, then parried the second. He kicked out, hitting her in the gut and knocking her back.

Justin attacked again. He and Brennen traded blows a few times before Beth leaped in again. Brennen Force pushed Justin back, then faced Beth again. She'd retrieved her second blade again. Brennen didn't want to face her when she had both. He used power blows, knowing she didn't rely on strength so much as speed. The crashing motions jarred her arms, numbing them. He slashed down on her left arm, cutting it off at the elbow. The part that was cut off fell away and disappeared. Surprised, for a moment he was stunned. She slammed her metal fist into his jaw, knocking him back. He reeled back, but recovered quickly. He faced her again, but Justin had rejoined her. They prepared for another attack.

Brennen moved first. He lunged at them, swinging his lightsaber at Justin's throat, trying to end the battle quickly. But Beth screamed suddenly and he flew back, slamming into the wall and collapsing in a heap on the ground.

He leapt up again. Justin rushed him, slashing. Brennen tried to dodge, but the lightsaber cut into the top of his shoulder. Brennen slammed the lightsaber away, then stabbed Justin through the chest. Justin froze, a look of surprise on his face. He disappeared. Brennen was so stunned by this that he was unprepared for Beth's attack. She pounced, slashing her single lightsaber at him. He swung at her clumsily, but she ducked in low and slashed at his legs. He'd seen her try that before in the war. He tried to jump over the blade, but the blade cut across both his shins. He kicked her in the face, and she fell back. He slammed the lightsaber through her throat, straight into the ground underneath her. Her eyebrows shot up, surprised, then she faded away just like her brother.

_Where did they go? _He thought. It was like they'd never existed. Except for the burning pain in his shoulder and legs. Those were real. "Holograms? Hallucinations? What were they?" He shook his head. But he knew something for sure at least: this hadn't been Justin and Beth. They'd been something else. They represented some part of his mind, something that had happened to him.

"Are the others fighting these things too?" he wondered. Suddenly the door, the one that had been locked, opened. He looked in it. It led down a long hallway. He ran down it, wanting to get out of there as fast as possible.

Johnny walked out of the darkness. He frowned. The room he was in was completely empty except for a door in the side of the room. He turned, looking at the door behind him. He tried to open it, but it refused. He turned back to try the other door. It was open slightly, but not enough that he could fit through. He looked for some way open it some more, but there was no way too open it.

Finally he placed a hand on the edge of either door and tried to wrench them apart. At first, nothing, but then they began to slowly creak apart. He strained, putting all his strength into it. Eventually he had them far enough apart that he could squeeze through.

He ran down a long hallway that ended in a door. He didn't have to force this one open luckily, and walked through.

This room was empty too. There was another door in the side of the room, and he walked over to it. It was locked shut, with no way to open it. He studied it for a moment, shook his head and turned around.

Visas stood there.

"Visas!" This was definitely a surprise. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm here because you want me to be here," she said. He frowned, confused.

"Uh, your responses are usually pretty hazy, but that's opaque, even by your standards. What do you mean you're here because I wanted you to be?"

"Search your heart, search your feelings, you will understand," she answered.

"Can't you just give me a straight answer?" He, however, was thinking back to that conversation he'd had with Beth.

"_There's still Visas and Kreia."_

"_Shut up Beth. I do not want Kreia."_

"_And Visas?"_

"_I don't know."_

Did he really want her to be here? Did he like her?

"Do you understand now?" she asked.

"Visas, I don't think we should discuss this here." She started walking closer. Johnny gulped nervously. This was getting weird. "M-Maybe we should just–"

Suddenly a lightsaber slashed through her neck. She disappeared. Johnny stared. But then he saw who'd done it.

Justin and Brennen there, grinning. Justin held his lightsaber in his hand, already ignited.

"You killed her!" he roared. "Why did you do that!"

"You know why," Justin said cruelly.

"You just can't handle me having a girlfriend can you!" Johnny shook with anger. "You just gotta fuck up my chances every time a girl comes along!"

The two laughed. Johnny felt rage rising in him quickly. He ignited his lightsaber. The two laughed even harder. He bellowed and slashed at them.

They reacted quickly. Justin blocked the shot, and Brennen slashed at him. Johnny dodged back. He threw out his hand and used Force lightning on Brennen. He yelled, but Johnny was too angry to care. Justin leaped in to attack him. He threw out his other hand, and lightning flew out of that one too. Justin stopped running, and started yelling too. Johnny grinned, almost enjoying the fact that they were in pain.

Then suddenly he had a flash of Mical on his hands and knees, screaming, with Beth standing helplessly behind a barrier, roiling in hatred, but unable to do anything. He pictured himself in Sion's place, with Justin and Brennen at his mercy, and Mira and Brianna standing a few feet away, helpless, angry.

He cut off the flow of lightning abruptly, horrified. His friends fell. He rushed over, hoping, pleading to God that they were not dead. They disappeared.

Johnny stood still, staring at the ground. _Did they become one with the Force or something? _"No," he breathed, realizing. "They weren't real. They were just...holograms? Hallucinations?" He'd killed them, liked it, wanted to see them in pain. Hated them for killing the girl he liked who...was also fake. Which meant...maybe she didn't actually like him? Or did she? He had no idea what to think.

Suddenly the door that had been locked before opened. He glanced in. It led down a long hallway. He ran down it, hating this place.

_Back in the Shyrack cave_...

Mira, Mical and Brianna were waiting patiently outside the cave opening where the four exiles had disappeared. Occasionally Mical or Brianna would feel a burning pain in multiple places, but when they looked nothing was there.

Suddenly Justin, Beth, Brennen and Johnny tumbled out of the darkness of the cave. The three looked up in surprise.

"Jaise!" Mira cried. She rushed forward and kissed him.

"Beth!" Mical called softly. He stepped forward and hugged her. She resisted for a moment, then stopped.

Brennen ran to Brianna and they hugged each other tightly. Brennen kissed the top of her head. "Brezu! You're hurt!" she said, looking at his shoulder.

"It's nothing," he said quietly.

Johnny shifted away from the others, envious. They all had someone waiting for them.

Mical held Beth back for a moment. "Who hurt you?" he asked quietly.

Beth was silent. _You did. _She thought sorrowfully.

Justin and Johnny were both unhurt, although Johnny nursed an inner wound, and Justin was feeling a bit guilty about what he'd seen. "Jaise," Mira said. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," he answered.

"But...But you must have been fighting someone," Brianna persisted. "You guys are hurt!"

"It...It was the Sith," Justin lied. "We got separated inside and the Sith attacked us when we weren't expecting it."

Mical looked at Beth. "Was it the Sith?" he whispered. She tried to meet his eyes, but looked away. He knew it wasn't the Sith then. Something had happened. Something had scared her. He hugged her again.

Justin licked his lips nervously, looking at his friend's faces to see if they were going to support the story. He couldn't see Beth, she was hugging Mical, Brennen was staring at the ground, Johnny was looking at the wall, blanked out.

Suddenly he heard a grating roar. The seven turned. The Terentatek, sensing weakness amongst the group, had revealed itself again. It glared at them, staking them out, then stomped towards them.

Beth pulled herself out of Mical's arms. She faced the creature. "Piss off you bag of shit," she snarled. Obviously she had no patience left. "Get out of here!"

The beast roared and took another step forward. She threw out her hands. "You have one last chance," she said in a threatening voice. Though the others couldn't see it, her eyes had darkened again. "Get out of here before I _make _you get out of here!"

Was the Terentatek laughing? It took another step forward. Suddenly it stopped. It's face took on a look of horror.

"One last chance," Beth hissed. "Leave, or die." The creature froze, then roared and rushed at her.

Justin yelled at Beth to move, but suddenly the Terentatek turned and ran off the cliff. It roared fearfully as it fell, and Justin tensed himself for a sudden merciful ending. But the howl merely faded away until there was nothing.

Mical stepped forward and pulled her back. "Beth, you little idiot," he growled. "Never do that again."

"I have no patience for creatures that fail to hold up their end of the bargain," she muttered.

Justin rushed forward. "Beth, how in God's name did you do that?" he exclaimed.

Beth sighed but said nothing.

"Beth?" Justin said.

"She doesn't want to say," Mical told him. "Don't pressure her."

"All right." Justin wanted to assume it was the Force, but he simply couldn't convince himself that was the answer. However, he didn't want to piss off both of them by trying to wheedle information out of Beth, so he let her be. "Come on. Let's just get out of here. We can rest on the way to Onderon."

Justin led them out of the cave. All were silent. Mira and Brianna had decided to stop trying to get Justin and Brennen to tell them what had really happened. Justin envied Beth, because she'd said nothing to Mical and he wasn't bugging her for information.

They reached the ship even more miserable then they had been the day before. Atton greeted them when they arrived, but didn't even risk asking what had happened. They all walked off to their rooms. Johnny paused just long enough to tell Atton to take them to Onderon before retiring to Communication's. Atton went to the cockpit immediately to take them off the planet.

Justin sat down in the cargo hold. Mira lowered herself next to him nervously. He said nothing to her. Really, this planet had been more trouble then it was worth.

End Of Chapter 8


	9. Chapter 9

Knights Of The Old Republic Chapter 9– Interesting What You Discover When You're Pissed

"Hello, this is Beth FM, bringing you the news of the day, as usual. As you know, we are on our way to Onderon, which about a week away. Luckily, we will not be running around in the wilderness facing horrible beasts with huge fangs and a thirst for blood, and we will not be exploring the biggest scumhole in the galaxy, so we should be good. Unless we land on Dxun. Then we will be subjected to Cannoks, Maalras, Bomas, and maybe even a Zakkeg or two. But chances are that won't happen unless there's a big space battle that drives us down to one of the moons. But what are the chances of that? This is Beth, signing off."

This was Beth's latest speech. It sounded plenty cheerful, but she was not very happy. She couldn't stop thinking about the shyrack caves. She thought occasionally about telling Mical. She could tell he wanted to ask, but he kept his mouth shut. Unlike Mira and Brianna. They had not bought the story about the Sith, and were nagging Justin and Brennen to tell them the truth. At first they denied that anything had happened, but eventually they merely decided to ignore the two girls. Which was harder then they'd anticipated.

Beth was standing in medbay at the moment. Mical was sitting on the bed uneasily. They could hear Mira out in the main hold talking to Justin. About the shyrack caves of course.

Beth sighed. She stared at the door blankly, leaning against the wall, arms crossed, but her mind was racing. She was caught between telling Mical everything and keeping her mouth and feeling like she was gonna explode. She glanced at Mical briefly. He noticed and looked over. She pretended to be studying the wampa in his lap. Charlie crooned worriedly. Even he'd noticed that she'd been extremely quiet since she had gotten back the previous day. Roger was lying down in front of her, occasionally croaking quietly. He was concerned about her, anyone could understand that.

_Just tell him. _Roger told her through her mind. It was a very light voice.

_You don't even know what it is. Maybe he's better off not knowing. _

Mical noticed her eyes darken slightly. This seemed to happen whenever she was speaking to animals. The more power she used, the darker her eyes went. It was so slight sometimes that you wouldn't notice unless you were looking for it. He thought back to the caves when they were facing the Terentatek on the bridge. Her eyes had seemed darker then they were now. But she didn't want to speak about that either.

He was practically exploding with the temptation to ask her what had happened in the caves. He didn't want to though, because it seemed to have disturbed her immensely. Last night he'd woken and heard her talking in her sleep, not the usual vile and profuse swearing, but something about weird eyes, and someone killing her for no reason...She had quieted down eventually, but he had thought more then once about waking her up. This morning she'd given her normal speech about where they were going and how long it would take, but she still seemed gloomy about something.

Suddenly she spoke up. "Mical, can I ask you something?"

Mical barely contained his eagerness. "Ya."

She looked away for a moment. He waited patiently. She exhaled slowly, then turned to him, but before she could speak Kreia walked in.

"What are you doing in my room you old witch?" she snarled.

"Temper temper," Kreia said quietly. "I wish to speak with you."

"Is it important?"

"Yes."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

Beth made a face, then nodded. "Fine. Whatever. I'll join in your little 'talk'."

"Good. Follow me. I wish to speak of this privately." She walked off down the hallway. Beth hesitated, then sighed and followed.

Kreia led her to her room and turned to her. "I know how little patience you have for me, so I will get straight to the point. I know what you four saw in the caves. More importantly, at least in your case, I know what _you _saw in the caves."

Beth bristled, angry suddenly. "Ya? And what, you gonna blackmail me or something? Make me do something for ya so you won't tell everyone what I saw?"

"No." She leaned forward. "I wish to talk to you about it."

"How do you know what I saw anyway?" Beth demanded.

"The Force can do many things. Now we must speak of your vision."

"Why?"

"Well, you won't speak of it to anyone else!" she snapped.

"That's because–well I– It's none of your business anyway!" Beth said finally.

"Listen to me Beth, the things you saw each represented something within yourself."

"I–What?"

"The Tuk'ata was your...'gift'. The terminal was your own computer skill, and the password was your own because it was all things from your own mind. You caught on to that rather quickly. And Mical represented your...insecurities."

"What do you mean by that?" Beth asked, although she had a pretty good idea of what Kreia meant.

"You worry that Mical does not like you. You fear that he will leave you suddenly for someone else. Well, I can put those fears to rest. He not with you out of pity. He wants to be with you."

Beth thought for a moment, then said "How do you know?"

"I have seen the way you two act when you are together. And I have seen, more importantly, how he acts. He is very protective of you. He does not want to see you get hurt. And I have overhead...certain conversations. I will not repeat them, as you will respect his privacy just as he respects yours."

Beth felt relieved. Kreia wasn't the kind of the person to say such things just to get your hopes up. Beth felt a bit happier at least. She nodded to Kreia and started to walk out, but then Kreia spoke up again.

"One more thing."

Beth stopped, but did not turn to face her.

"I would advise you to watch your feelings. I saw you in the academy. You must realize now how easily you can turn to the dark side."

Beth understood all right. Just the thought of Sion enraged her.

"Be careful of your emotions. This is why Jedi do not start relationships. It can be dangerous."

Beth felt angry. Was she telling her to leave Mical? "Go to Hell Kreia," she said, then walked out.

Mical looked at Roger, who was staring longingly out the door. "She didn't go anywhere," he told the gizka. "You don't have to sit there until she comes back." Roger ignored him and continued to sit there.

He wished he had that power Beth had with animals. Then maybe he could get some sense out of these animals. He'd seen her have full conversations with Roger. Although she didn't seem too happy about being able to do it. But then, she was pretty jaded recently.

She walked back in. He scanned her face anxiously to see if she was in any different of a mood. She seemed a bit less miserable.

She leaned against the wall. She looked like she was judging something. Then suddenly she whacked a fist into the button that closed the door. It slammed shut, and she turned to him. "Mical, I have to talk to you," she said immediately.

"Come on Jaise, I know something happened, just tell me!" Mira whined, tugging his arm.

Justin tried to ignore her, but it was a difficult thing. He was almost grateful when Kreia walked in and said she wanted to talk to him. He got up at once and followed her, glancing curiously at the medbay. He'd never seen the door shut before.

Kreia took him into her room. Justin paused. "You're not gonna come onto me are you?" he asked.

"Be silent," she snapped. "I saw what happened in the caves. I saw what you saw."

Oh shit. "Oh? And what do you care?" he said, trying to act cool.

"I wish to speak with you about your vision. Everyone else had one, but all were different. I noticed all four of you look very depressed about them, and none of you wish to speak of it. But I have seen it, and you _will _speak of it to me."

"And why should I?"

"I can explain it to you."

"Congrats. Beth could probably explain it to me too."

"Perhaps. But she has problems of her own to deal with. We are discussing your vision, not hers."

Justin was briefly curious as to what Beth's 'problems' were, but he decided not to ask. "All right fine. We'll talk about my vision."

"Yes. You saw Brianna, and she obviously liked you. Loved you, more of. Well, she doesn't really feel that way about you."

"Then what? I feel that way about her?"

"In a way. But you denied her of course. Because you didn't want to hurt Brezu."

"So, what? I like her, but I control myself for Brezu's sake? That's what the vision meant?"

"Yes."

"Huh." Well that was easy.

"You all saw something in there that revealed a part of yourselves. And all of you must face it, and now is as good a time as any. I would suggest speaking to your friends about what you saw, and if not them, then perhaps Mira."

"Mira?" He gulped. "But...But she'd be pissed to hear about it! At me, maybe at Brianna...I can't possibly tell her!"

"Then consider one of the others. Someone who can, and will, keep quiet about it. I assume you do not want this to get out."

Justin didn't answer. He thought of all the people on the ship he could talk to. He figured, if he wanted to talk to someone, it would one of the other exiles. He walked out without another word.

Brennen sat in the cargo hold with Brianna. She was, as she'd been doing since he'd woken up, pestering him for information about the caves. He was this close to telling her to shut the Hell up. His shoulder and legs were sore from the fight the day before, which made him very grumpy. Suddenly Kreia walked in.

"I wish to speak with you," she said.

"Ya, well I'm not available right now," he snapped.

"You will come, and you will come now." Her tone made it sound final. Brennen decided to go with her, just because Brianna wouldn't be there to bother him.

"All right, what?" he demanded as soon as they reached Kreia's room.

"You are in a worse mood then Beth," she said with a hint of amusement.

"Ya? Well Beth doesn't fucking lightsaber wounds in three fucking places!"

"Calm down. I want to speak with you about your vision."

"Well, I don't."

"You are going to. I was not suggesting we speak. I was telling you we will speak."

"You don't even know what I saw."

"Yes I do. You saw Jaise, bragging about...Brianna." Brennen stiffened, fuming. "And Beth, mocking you about the events of Tatooine."

"Well, so what? What do you care?"

"I care because the experience had saddened you greatly. You fought, and killed, your friends, even if they weren't real. You did not seem happy when you came out of the cave."

"Well, I wasn't. You happy?"

"That vision did not mean you wanted to murder your friends. It meant only that you were angry about what they did. You had to face it eventually."

Brennen was silent. He wasn't proud that he had attacked his friends. He wasn't proud that he'd killed them. And he didn't want to talk about it, least of all to Kreia. And he was a bit ashamed to admit to having done it, even to Brianna. Would she understand? He just wanted to forget it had happened. Pretend it had never happened.

"You should talk about it," Kreia said, breaking through his thoughts. "If not to me, then to Brianna, or one of your other friends."

"What if I don't want to?" Brennen snapped. "I don't have to tell anyone. And you won't either," he added, pointing at her. "If you do, I'll tell everyone you're a Sith!"

"What did you say?" she breathed.

Brennen stormed out of the room, sick of Kreia and her preachings.

A few minutes later Johnny stood nervously in her room. Kreia looked up at him. "I wish to discuss your visions in the Shyrack caves."

Johnny frowned. "How did you–?"

"I've answered that question many times already. It is the Force that allows me to see things others can not. But we shall speak of that another time. Right now, your vision."

"I don't feel like talking about that right now," Johnny said. He was the only one to have had any patience with Kreia this day.

"You must. I saw what you did. And you must know now the dangers of the dark side. It is not hard to turn you know. You saw that yesterday. First, in the academy, with Beth. Then again, in the caves, with yourself. You thought that your friends stood before you. But you killed them, cruelly and without mercy."

"So? I'm not happy about it. I regretted it after I did it."

"Yes, and perhaps that is that stops you from turning. But it can be a slow thing, a subtle thing. You may not notice it until years after it has happened. Be careful."

"I—I will try." He turned to leave.

"Talk to your friends about what you saw."

"What?" He looked at her over his shoulder.

"You should tell them what you saw, so that they may help you. You are not the only one to have had visions they are not proud of."

"The others did too? What about?"

"I will not say. If they wish for you to know, they will tell you. Now leave me. I must rest." She sat and began to meditate. Johnny shivered and left.

"So that's what you saw?" Mical said softly. Beth nodded. She did not look at him. "Beth, you must know that's not true. I made my own choice to start a relationship with you. You asked, and I said yes. Did I ever give you the impression that I was just waiting for another girl to come along?"

"No," she said.

He smirked. "Besides, who would keep an eye on you should I leave?" he joked. She grinned. "Well it's about bloody time! You've been walking around looking like someone ran over your gizka all day." Roger croaked. They looked at him. Evidently he didn't think the statement was very funny.

"Do you think the others had visions too?" Beth asked, picking up Roger and scratching his head.

"It's likely. You all had that look about you when you came out. That's why I knew it wasn't the Sith who attacked you."

Beth shifted, putting a hand over a cut on her arm. She'd woken up that morning with burning pains all over her body. Mical's lightsaber, fake or not, had certainly left it's mark. Marks, more of. She didn't bother asking him to heal her. It wasn't bad enough for that. She also knew she was going to need new robes soon. These ones were going to Hell. She wished she'd had brought her Jedi robes with her after leaving the sand-people enclave on Tatooine.

"Are you all right?" he asked.

"Just the lightsaber wounds," she said, moving her hand to look at her arm. He got up and looked at it.

"Wow. Did I really do all that?" He'd noticed all the similar slashes. "I thought you were a better fighter then me."

"Well, apparently I didn't. It was my mind, not yours."

"Well, you did end up beating me."

"Yes, but I wasn't trying at first remember? I nearly died letting your hologram live. Bastard. You owe me big time."

"What? Why would I owe you? I'm not a hologram!"

"No, but you will be if you piss me off!"

"That doesn't even make sense!"

"I'll show you sense!"

She jumped at him, dropping the gizka. He leaped off the bed, catching her wrists in his hands. He pushed her back, slamming her into the door. She inhaled, preparing to Force scream, but suddenly the door opened and the two fell out.

Justin stared at them. They had to admit, it looked kinda bad, because Mical had fallen on top of her. He got off immediately, and the two stood awkwardly by the door, clearing their throats and looking anywhere except at Justin or each other.

"I heard someone hit the door," Justin said. "Were you guys...um, busy?"

Beth glared at him. Mical looked at the ground. "We weren't doing anything!" Beth said. "We were just...fighting again."

Justin smirked. "Ya, I'll bet."

"Jaise, what do you want?" Beth snapped.

"I just thought I heard something, really."

"Jaise, even if we _were _doing something, why the Hell would you open the door? I don't burst into _your_ room when the door's closed."

Justin shrugged. "Well, I wanted to talk to you anyway. Well, I was thinking about it, but it's either I tell you, or I tell Mira. You would be the better choice."

Beth and Mical stared at him. "Aw dude, you're cheating on her aren't you?" Beth said, grinning.

"Shush, quiet!" he whispered. "I'm not cheating! Just...Just, here, sit down." He sat down at the table in the main hold. Beth and Mical glanced at each other, then shrugged and joined him.

Justin looked very uncomfortable. _Serves him right. _Beth thought. _Made me plenty awkward too. _He looked up at the two of them.

"Ok, so I'm guessing you one of those visions too eh?" He looked edgily at Mical.

"I already told him mine," Beth said. "But don't expect me to tell you about it."

"Whatever." He leaned forward, they copied him. He spoke quietly. "Anyway, in my vision I was...well, I saw...Um, Brianna appeared and..." He didn't seem sure how to proceed. Beth yawned, bored. She'd never had patience with people who couldn't tell a story. "I walked in a room and Brianna walked in and started making out with me and then I killed her!" Justin suddenly said, very quickly. Beth and Mical jumped, startled.

"Excuse me?" Mical said.

"You killed her?" Beth said incredulously.

"Well, I mean she tried to kill me first," Justin said uncomfortably. "She, you know, started kissing me, and I told her no, because she was Brezu's girlfriend, and then she took out her lightsaber and tried to kill me." He was staring fixedly at the table by this time. Beth and Mical looked at each other. "I...I don't want to tell Mira though," he said so quietly the two could barely hear him. "I don't want her to...I don't know, be angry with me, or Brianna, even though she wasn't really there. But Kreia said I should tell someone."

_He sounds sad. _Beth looked down at the ground. Charlie sat there. She'd never heard his voice in her head before. It sounded very child-like. _Why is he sad?_

Beth patted him on the head. _He feels bad, I think. _She told him. Justin remained silent. Beth was unsure what to say.

Luckily, Brennen stomped into the main hold at that moment. The three looked up at him as he sat down, the anger practically radiating off him.

"And what's wrong with you?" Beth asked.

"Shut up Beth," he snapped. The three looked at each other, eyebrows raised. However, Brennen couldn't keep quiet for long. "Fuck! Brianna won't leave me alone!" he erupted. "She keeps asking me what I saw, and I told her to stop asking, but fuck! She just won't shut up!'

"Maybe you should just tell her," Mical suggested.

"Hell no! You wouldn't even suggest that if you knew what I did!!" Brennen snapped, then seemed to suddenly realize what he'd said and shut up.

The three waited a few seconds, then Justin said "What was your vision?"

Brennen sighed. "Don't repeat this," he said quietly. He told them slowly about what his vision. He did not look at any of them. Beth and Justin were amazed at his story. Not offended, necessarily, just amazed. In a way, they had been expecting him to see someone hed liked, merely because the two of them had.

Brennen finished his story and fell silent. Beth and Justin realized he was waiting for them to say something. "Well, we did challenge you," Justin said.

"Ya," Beth agreed. "We would never do that normally. No harm done."

Brennen glanced up them. "Really? You don't care?"

Beth leaned back. "Well, not if you get me a beer."

"Piss off."

Justin grinned. "Ya, about that alcohol..."

"Maybe later," Brennen said. "Hey, Kreia said we all had visions eh? What about Lorenti? How come he isn't out here spilling the beans?"

"I don't know," Justin said. "I haven't seen him since we got back."

Beth shrugged. "Well, I think story time is over for now. I don't know about you, but I have stuff to do."

"Oh ya." Justin smirked. "You got...business to finish with Mical here?"

"Go straight to the burning fires of Hell Jaise. I told you, _we didn't do anything._"

"Excuse me? Did I miss something here?" Brennen said.

"Ya. Beth and Mical were–"

"–doing shit all. Jaise, shut your damn mouth!"

"Well, if you weren't doing anything, then why were you pressed up against the door?"

"Because we were fighting and Mical pushed me into it!"

"Ya. I'll bet."

"Jaise. Go. Straight. To. Hell. Do not pass go, do not collect two hundred dollars."

"Hey, you give me proof that you were doing shit-all, and I'll leave you alone."

"How about I CRACK YOUR FUCKING HEAD OPEN!! Is that fucking proof enough?"

"Nope. Sounds like you're covering something up. Why else would your door be closed?"

"Because I was discussing a private matter with him."

"Ya. I know."

"Oh shut up," she said tiredly.

"You can't deny it Beth."

"Oh just drop it!" Mical snapped. "We weren't doing anything! We fight all the time, just because the door was closed this time doesn't mean anything!"

"They have a point you know, Jaise," Brennen said. "They do fight a lot."

Justin shrugged. "I don't know. I mean, they never do close the–"

"Jaise, I'm not shitting you. If you don't shut your damn noise-hole right now, you're going to wake up tomorrow with one eye and no ears."

"Why one eye?"

"So you can see me kicking YOUR DAMN ASS!!"

"Well I guess that's as good a reason as any." Beth got up to go back to her room. Mical stood to follow her. "Have fun," he said, winking. The two ignored him and went back to their room. Beth thought of closing the door again just to spite him, but passed on the idea.

Charlie and Roger ran in. Both were chattering quickly. Beth listened for a moment. Mical looked over at her.

"What are they saying?" he asked.

Beth sighed, then chuckled. "They're asking about the conversation. They want to know what Jaise thought we were doing."

Mical snorted, grinning. "Bloody animals. Charlie's too young to know about such things. Don't tell him." The wampa growled, disappointed. "How old is Roger anyway?"

"In human years, he'd be approximately fifteen."

"Huh." He looked at the gizka. "So he'd be a teenager eh?"

"Ya. Should be fully aware of the topic of the conversation. I'm still not explaining it to him."

Justin and Brennen were silent for a bit after Beth and Mical left. Brennen still felt uncomfortable. "So, you really don't care about the vision?"

"I told you, no." Justin yawned. "Man, what time is it?"

"I think it's something like three o'clock. I don't know for sure. Hey dude." He leaned forward. "Don't tell Brianna all right? I don't want her to know."

"Maybe you should buddy." He lowered his voice. "At least you didn't make out with someone else's girlfriend in your vision."

Brennen turned cold. "What did you say?" he said dangerously.

Justin laughed. "Hey man, it didn't mean anything, I just–"

"YOU SON OF A BITCH!!" He leaped across the table at him. Justin dodged back, still laughing. Brennen chased him around the ship, threatening him with all kinds of gruesome deaths.

Johnny sat in the Communication's room, silent. He wasn't sure what to do. Sit here and pretend nothing had happened, or tell the others about his vision. He heard Brennen chasing Justin around the ship and sighed. If he'd been in a better mood, he might have gone out there and laughed or something, but he felt terrible. He didn't want the two to know that he had killed them and liked it, but he didn't want to stay locked up in his room for the whole trip either.

He thought of talking to Visas, but what if she didn't like him? Wouldn't she be disgusted by him then? That he saw a vision of her coming on to him or something?

He also thought of telling Beth, but he wasn't sure if she'd even care. She had looked equally miserable when he'd seen her last. He had no idea what she'd seen in those caves. She could have seen much worse then him.

He let out an aggravated sigh. This was getting way too complicated.

_Later..._

Things had quieted down in the ship. But not for long. Beth and Mical had ventured out into the main hold again. They discussed the visions, her's, Justin's, Brennen's. They suggested ideas for what Johnny's could have been. But the peaceful chat did not last long. As Johnny had described them once, the two were a bomb just waiting to go off. Before they knew it, they'd started a fight over nothing. Just some simple statement.

At first they merely shoved at each other. Then Beth tried to punch him. He ducked, then grabbed her wrists and it became a pushing match. Inevitably, he won, and shoved her up against the wall. And then Justin walked in.

At first he merely stared at them. Then the two realized how bad it looked, that Mical had her pinned against the wall. Justin grinned.

"Well well well," he said, strolling in closer. Beth rolled her eyes.

"Oh grow up Jaise." Beth said as Mical stepped back.

"I don't know, seemed pretty obvious this time."

"Oh come on. Like we'd do something like that out here anyway. We're not all as open as you."

"Beth, why must you deny it?"

"I'm tired of arguing this point Jaise. We didn't do anything, and we _haven't _done anything. We were just fighting, and he pushed me against the wall. He is stronger then me you know." Justin smirked. "Jesus Christ man, how did you take _that _wrong?"

"I have my ways."

"Come on Beth," Mical said. They walked back into their room. As they walked off, Justin called "Sorry for interrupting!"

"He has the mind of a twelve year old sometimes," Mical said.

"I know."

Justin shook his head, still grinning. He didn't honestly believe the two would start making out on the main hold. Beth was too self-conscious for that. Still, it was funny to watch her squirm.

He'd finally got up the guts to tell Mira about his vision. She had fallen very silent after he'd told her, so he figured he'd give her some time to think about what he'd said and came out into the main hold. He sat down at the table, and Mira walked in.

"What are you smiling about?" she asked. _Good. _He thought. _She's not in a bad mood. _

"Oh, just poking fun at Beth. She and Mical were fighting, and he slammed her into the wall, and it looked bad so I started saying they were doing something R rated."

Mira snorted with laughter. "Ya, I spoke to her about her little friend in the academy. She seems a bit awkward about the whole thing."

"Well, but she's always been like that. Anyway, have you thought about my vision?"

"Yes. And I've decided to let you off with a warning."

"Oh. And here I was expecting a spanking."

"Do you always have your mind in the gutter?"

"Very often. So what's the warning?"

"You're young, so I can't expect you to turn off your hormones. But I will not allow for you to cheat on me. For your own good, I'd suggest a cold shower if you ever consider Brianna again."

"A cold shower? Harsh."

"Not as harsh as the alternative punishment. You have been warned."

"And I will take that warning into account."

"Do you know what the others saw in the cave?"

"Only Brezu, and I will not get into it. If he wants you to know, he will tell you."

"You don't know Lorenti's or Beth's?"

"Mical apparently knows Beth's vision, and I haven't even seen Lorenti all day. I don't think anyone knows what he saw."

"Mical eh?" she repeated softly.

"Mira, please don't start pressuring him for information."

"Now what makes you think I'd do that?"

"That look in your eye." He took her hands gently in his own. "Promise me you won't start ferreting around for secrets."

"All right Jaise," she said sweetly. "I won't try to get Mical to tell me anything I shouldn't know."

_One hour later..._

Mical was sitting in the main hold. He was blanked out, not really thinking about anything. Mira sat down next to him and he didn't even notice until she prodded him in the ribs.

"Easy! That side's still sore from Tatooine!"

"Sorry." She looked around. "Where's Beth?"

"She didn't sleep well last night. She went back to bed."

"You really like her don't you?"

"Ya."

"Did she have one of those visions? Jaise said everyone had one."

Mical looked at her suspiciously. "She did," he answered slowly. "She told me about it this morning."

"She must trust you a lot to tell you and no one else."

"She trusts me because she knows I can keep my mouth shut." He added a touch of scorn to his voice, a subtle _So if you think I'm gonna tell you, you got another thing coming._

"Easy, I'm not gonna make you betray your friend's trust. I just find it interesting that all four of them had different visions. Don't you?"

"Well, they all have different minds. Naturally, they would have different visions."

"What? What do their minds have to do with it?"

"I can tell you're just trying to trick me into telling you Beth's vision." He stood. "Well, I respect her privacy, as should you. We all have our secrets, and if Beth wants you to know them, she will tell you herself." He left to go back to his room, but Mira leaped up and grabbed his sleeve.

"Wait," she said. He looked at her, irritated. "All right, so I'm just trying to figure what she saw. I'm curious all right?"

"Then be curious elsewhere," he snapped. "I'm not telling you what she saw. It's none of your business. If you're so damn curious, then why don't you ask her?"

"Well–I–"

"Exactly. You know she won't tell you, so you came to pry the information out of me. Well, it won't work." He turned to leave, and this time she let him go.

He walked into medbay and closed the door, in case Mira came back for more interrogating. He thought vaguely of what Jaise would say if he noticed the door being shut again, but decided he didn't care.

He looked at Beth, who was waking up. He stepped forward. "Hey," he said softly. She grunted sleepily, sitting up. "You sleep any better this time?"

"Sorta," she answered. "More war dreams. I was on a space mission." She looked at him blearily. "You all right? You look angry."

Did he? "Just a bit. Mira was asking me about what you saw in the caves."

"You didn't tell her did you?" she asked anxiously.

"Of course not. Just watch it. She may try to trick something out of you. She tried it with me."

"Fucking bitch," she muttered. "She just can't leave me alone."

"Has she been bugging you before?"

"Sorta. But don't worry about it." She grinned. "If she doesn't leave me alone, I'll set you on her. You can drive her off can't you?"

"Sure." He grinned.

_Yet another hour later..._

Justin walked down the hallway. He'd been sleeping away the day, but wasn't tired enough to continue. He'd awoke to find Mira gone, and decided to go find her.

As he walked past medbay, he noticed that the door was closed again. He thought of opening it, but then remembered Beth.

"_Even if we _were _doing something, why the Hell would you open the door? I don't burst into _your _room when the door's closed."_

He passed on opening the door. She did have a point there. "This time," he said quietly, "The door remains closed." He walked past. Probably for the best. Whatever the reason for the door, he could guarantee opening it would result in serious injury on his part.

He found Mira in the main hold. She was sitting at the table, silent. "What's up?" he asked, lowering himself next to her.

"Nothing. Just sick of sitting in the cargo hold. So when are we gonna start drinking that alcohol?"

"Probably tomorrow. Only two or three people on the ship would even think of drinking right now. By the way, do you know why that door is closed?" He gestured at the medbay.

Mira glanced toward it, then shrugged. "I don't know. Don't care either." Justin frowned. What was she so pissed off about?

For a few minutes they merely sat there. Then Justin suggested they go back to their room. She shrugged, apathetic. She got up and led him to the room. But she stopped suddenly outside the medbay and slammed a fist into the button that opened the door.

"Beth!" Justin said, startled. She and Mical pushed away from each other. Justin was speechless. They hadn't been doing much, it just looked like they'd been kissing, but he had no idea what to say.

Mical stared at the ground, face red. Beth coughed, embarrassed. Mira grinned. "I didn't know you had the guts," she said, chuckling.

"Go to Hell Mira. Seriously." Beth glared at her. Then she looked at Justin. "You got a lot of balls Jaise. I don't see why you can't just back off."

"I didn't—Mira–" His voice didn't seem to be working properly.

But Beth and Mical had heard enough. "Why don't you two just piss off!" Mical said angrily. "What we do is none of your business anyway!"

"Exactly," Beth said sharply. "We don't intrude on what you do! We never even commented on the foursome!'

Justin suddenly felt very awkward. He hadn't thought about that, and no one seemed to want to mention it until now. "C-Come on, Mira," he said quietly. He walked off. Mira looked at the two one last time, smirked just to anger them, and then left.

"Touchy huh?" Mira said when she and Justin had gotten back to the cargo hold. However, he spun on her angrily.

"Why did you have to open the door?! Beth's pissed enough at me as it is, without her thinking I'm watching her every move!"

"Whoa, calm down." She raised her hands, alarmed. "Don't be all mad at me. If I were you, I'd keep an eye on that sister of yours. She'd growing up pretty damn fast."

A similar thought had run through his head, but Justin figured Beth and Mical were right. Maybe he should just leave them alone, let them run their own life.

"Look, just let them be, ok?" Justin said. "If they want to be alone, then let them. Lord knows I can't protect her any better then Mical, and if he's willing, then I'll back off."

Mira shrugged. "Fine. It's your choice. You just watch that a kid doesn't suddenly pop up around here, if you know what I mean."

"I don't think she's growing up that fast."

Suddenly Johnny was at his door. "Damn it Jaise, I need to talk to you and Brezu and Beth. Now."

"All right." He walked out and let Johnny lead him to the storage room. The door was shut. Justin knocked lightly. At first he heard nothing. Then Brennen called "One second."

A few seconds later the door opened. Brennen rubbed his eyes, and yawned. "What's up?" he asked sleepily.

"Lorenti says he has to talk with us," Justin answered. He glanced past him. "Were you sleeping?"

"Ya. Nothing else to do. All right, I'm coming." He stepped out of his room and closed the door. The three approached the medbay. Justin was a bit more awkward then the others, because the door was closed again and he was the only one who knew why. Beth would be happier this time though, because Justin knocked instead of opening the door right away.

Just like with Brennen there was silence for a few seconds. Then Beth called "What?"

"Lorenti has to talk to us," Justin said. Beth didn't reply, and Justin thought for a second that she wasn't gonna come out. But then the door opened and she stood in the doorway.

"What about?" she asked.

"My vision. Just the four of us. Please?" Johnny added. Beth glanced at him. She was still irritated by the whole barging-into-her-room thing, but she followed the other three into the main hold.

Lorenti told them his story slowly and quietly. It wasn't very long, but all three were shocked. It sounded as though he'd been a stone's throw from going over to the dark side. Justin and Brennen were especially surprised as Johnny explained how he'd killed them both without mercy.

When he finished, a heavy silence fell over the group. Then Beth patted him on the arm. "Don't worry man, I know how it feels to be willing to kill for someone you love," she said in a low tone.

"Ya, but I'm not even Visas's boyfriend, and I was still willing to murder my two best friends for her." He let out a huge breath. "Maybe I shouldn't start a relationship. It's too dangerous, at least for me. I can kill too easily. I don't want to go over to the dark side."

Justin bit his lip, looking at the other two worriedly. He'd always thought that Star Wars made it seem too easy to turn, but it really was. It was one thing to say you'd never fall, but another to stay up. It seemed like staying on the light side was like trying to stand on a log that was going down a rough river.

"So what now?" Brennen said. "We've all blabbed about our visions, what do we do now?"

They looked at Justin. He sighed. "We go to Onderon, find Kavar, and get off. It was fun at first, but I'm starting to tire of this game. It's getting too complicated."

"Amen to that," Johnny muttered.

"Now, let's go back to our rooms, rest up, and tomorrow, we'll all feel much better." He grinned. "Besides, we still got the booze." The other three perked up at the sound of beer. "Now let's MOVE OUT!!" The four separated, each going to their respective rooms.

Justin felt much better after the talk. He wasn't sure why. He and Mira went to sleep, even though it wasn't very late. Things would be better in the morning.

_Midnight..._

Beth was in the main hold. It was her turn for the floor again, so she was unable to sleep. Plus she'd had another nightmare about the caves. It had been worse this time. Mical had said some truly evil things.

She heard footsteps, and turned. Mira stood there.

"What do you want?" Beth snarled.

"I just wanted to talk to you about your vision," she said, walking up to her.

"Congrats. I don't."

"Why won't you tell anyone? How bad could it be?"

Beth narrowed her eyes. "Listen to me woman, I will not fall for your tricks, and I will not tell you what I saw. Now piss off. You saw what I did to the Terentatek, I can do it to you too." Truthfully, she couldn't, but only she and Mical knew that.

"Yes, about that..." Mira grinned wickedly. "I don't know what that was, but I'll find out. And if it's something bad, not even your precious Mical will save you."

Beth bristled. "Is that a threat?" she asked menacingly.

"You could say it is. Or perhaps I'm just trying to dig my claws into you for fun. Feel free to try and figure it out." Beth said nothing. "I heard you talking in your sleep. Sounded like a bad dream. You said Mical's name a few times. Is he really that bad?"

Beth's temper flared at the implication. "I'd keep my mouth shut if I were you. I'm not someone you can piss around with."

"You seem angry whenever I mention Mical. Is there something you don't want me to find out?" She smirked.

Beth felt her self-restraint stretch. "I'm not shitting you Mira. Shut up, or you won't like what happens next."

Mira decided to test her luck. "Was it your vision? What happened in it that you didn't like? Did your friend leave you perhaps?" Beth blinked. How did she know? Had Mical told her? "What a surprise that would be. Why would he bother leaving you? He seems able to get whatever he wants off you–"

Beth snapped. She leaped, punching at her. Mira, startled, dodged to the side. Beth slammed into the wall with a crash, but she landed on her feet. Beth whipped out her single remaining lightsaber and ignited it.

"Die, whore!" Beth shouted. She charged at Mira, preparing to slash. Mira would've died right then and there if Mical hadn't tackled Beth to the ground. He held her lightsaber hand on the ground. She struggled, but Mical was much stronger then her and kept her pinned down.

"Beth, what are you doing?" he said.

"She just wouldn't stop!" Beth snarled, trying to force her hand out of Mical's.

"What are you talking about?"

"She tried to kill me!" Mira howled. Beth and Mical looked over at her. The rest of the crew, drawn by the noises, had gathered around them.

"Be quiet Mira!" Mical snapped. "She didn't mean–"

"She has her lightsaber out! Look!" Mira pointed.

"Beth, turn it off," Mical whispered. She glared at him. "Beth, please, turn it off." She tried to meet his eyes, but couldn't and looked away. She switched off her weapon, then dropped it. He picked it up and stood, allowing her to get up. She rose slowly, keeping close to Mical, not looking at anyone. All were staring at her, astonished. She was quick to fight, but never to kill.

"Beth, what's your problem?" Justin demanded. "You can't just kill people!"

"Hey!" Mical snapped. "How do you know she really tried to kill Mira?"

"I did," Beth whispered. Mical stared at her.

"Why?"

"Because she...she kept saying things." Beth knew it sounded lame, but was too embarrassed to repeat what Mira had said.

Justin rolled his eyes. "Wow, Beth. She said things. You tried to kill my girlfriend because she was making conversation?"

"No that's not why!" Beth shouted, frustrated.

"Then why Beth?! Why did you try to kill her!"

"She...She was saying things about...about him." She nodded to Mical.

Justin blinked. "She was saying things about Mical? What things?"

"She implied certain...uh, things. I warned her to be quiet, but she just wouldn't shut up." Beth gulped.

"_I know how it feels to be willing to kill for those you love."_

Justin turned to Mira. "Is this true?"

"No it's not true! I was just trying to talk to her, but she flipped out and tried to kill me!"

"Bullshit." Mical said this. "Beth might be easily set off, but she has a long fuse. And she told me you've been bothering her already."

Beth stared at the ground. She couldn't believe she'd tried to kill someone again. Justin sighed, and she glanced up.

"I'm afraid I have to agree with Mic. Beth doesn't kill without reason, though she fights without cause. I've never seen her pull out a lightsaber when she fights with Brennen or Mical, so I'm obligated to believe she had a just reason. Mira, I'd suggest watching your mouth from now on. You would be dead right now if Mical hadn't jumped in." He turned to the rest of the crew. "All right, everyone, show's over. Get out." They dispersed. Mira paused a moment to glare at Beth, who felt ashamed and angry. It was a sign of how terrible she felt that she didn't even try to stare Mira down. Luckily, Justin dragged her out of the room, and Beth and Mical were alone in the main hold.

Mical sat her down. "Beth, what did she say?" he asked softly. He sat next to her.

Beth stared at the table, but recited numbly everything Mira had said. She didn't even feel like part of the world anymore, like she'd been detached from everything. She thought of Sion, and wanted to kill. She thought of Mira, and felt the same thing, only lessened slightly. At least she hadn't called all the animals in the galaxy towards her.

She finished what she'd been saying and fell silent. It was quite the day for storytelling it seemed. Mical pulled her close and hugged her.

"Don't let her get to you," he whispered. She said nothing. She felt just as miserable as she had been when she'd left Korriban. Justin walked in the room, but neither cared.

He sat down across the table from them. Mical looked at him. Beth didn't even bother. "Mira's pretty pissed off about what happened," he started, but Mical interrupted.

"Ya? And so am I! Fucking little shit."

Justin bristled. "Let's not get into it. All I was gonna say is just try and stay away from each other. We don't need anymore trouble."

"If she'd stay the fuck away from me, I'd stay the fuck away from her," Beth muttered darkly. "Mical, get off. I'm going back to bed." Mical released her and followed her into their room.

Justin sighed and walked back to the cargo hold. He lied down on the bed next to Mira. "You really stirred up some shit back there Mira."

"Don't blame that on me. Blame your sister."

Justin rolled his eyes and didn't say anything back. This was quickly going bad.

_Early morning..._

Beth and Mical were out in the main hold again. It was only six thirty in the morning, but Beth had been having pretty bad nightmares. Not the caves this time though. Another war memory, only this time her platoon was being slaughtered. They'd been ambushed. Mical had been woken up when Beth had suddenly leapt off the ground, grabbed him by the shoulders and began yelling at him that they'd been betrayed. Her eyes had been shut though, so he'd began telling her calmly the mandalorians had left, and she'd began to calm down. Eventually she'd come around, and was stuck wondering what she was doing standing up.

Unable to sleep after such a chilling dream, both had decided that this was as good a time as any to get out of bed. And so, they sat at the table in the main hold, with Mical drinking coffee and Beth daydreaming.

Footsteps. The two turned to see Mira. She rubbed her eyes sleepily, then saw who it was and smiled mockingly.

Mical saw Beth stiffen. "Calm down," he whispered to her. She glanced at him shortly, and did not calm at all.

"What do you want Mira?" Beth said coldly.

"Oh nothing. I was thinking of getting a drink, but I think this would be a good time to prick more holes in your grumpy hide." She sat down at the table.

Beth turned away from her. At first Mical thought she was trying to ignore her, but then her eyes darkened.

Suddenly Roger and Charlie ran out of medbay and stopped in front of Mira. Both started growling. "Roger and Charlie can smell evil," Beth said quietly. Mical shivered. She sounded like she'd lost all feeling. "They came for you pretty quick huh?"

The animals became more threatening, baring their teeth, hackles rising. "You'd be surprised at what such small creatures can do," Beth said, watching them. Mira started to shift away, and the growl rose to a snarl.

Mical grabbed her arm. "Beth, call them off, now," he said. She looked at him. He stared. Her eyes were black, with not a hint of white left. "Beth, now, call them off." Suddenly her eyes cleared and she looked alarmed.

"Charlie, Roger, get out of here!" she ordered the two animals. The two also looked confused, as though they didn't remember how they'd gotten there. They trotted back to the medbay. Mira threw her one last frightened look and then ran back to the cargo hold.

"Beth, what was that?" Mical asked.

"I..." She scratched her head. "I don't know. Something weird happened here."

"I know that!" he exclaimed. "Your eyes were pitch black! Is there some sort of side-effect to that power?"

"My eyes were black?" Her brows furrowed, confused.

"They darken whenever you use your power for more then just to talk to the animals. When you do your weird silent talk, they get a bit darker. When you order them they tend to get much darker."

"Really? Hm. You learn something new everyday."

"Ya, but what happened here? You looked intent on killing Mira, and it wasn't until I started talking to you that suddenly your eyes cleared and you seemed to realize what you were doing. Did you blackout or something?"

"No, I remember doing it all." She frowned thoughtfully, leaning back. "I don't know. It was like I was suddenly separated from myself." Mical felt cold, thinking about her emotionless voice. "I can't explain it. I wasn't myself. I don't what else to say."

He gripped her sleeve. "Listen Beth, you have to watch yourself. You could've made those beasts kill her, or at the very least injure her severely. I don't know what's been going on with you, but ever since you left that academy you haven't been yourself. Is there something you're not telling me?"

Beth suddenly felt angry. "I've told you everything!" she snapped. "I don't know what's happening either, so quit acting like this only affects you!'

"I never said that!" he said angrily.

"No, but you're sure as Hell implying it." She didn't even know what she was talking about, but she felt like she'd been wound up too far, and now she had to swing back the other way. "Everyone assumes I've done this, and that, and no one believes that maybe I just have no Goddamn clue! I tried to kill Mira last night, just because she said some mean things." Her thoughts were swirling around crazily, no longer going from A to B to C, but from A to Z then back to K and maybe to Q. "I can't even control my own moves, my own feelings! It terrifies me, but I can't do anything, and no matter how much I try to talk about it, it just doesn't come out!" She was vaguely aware that she wasn't making any sense. Mical no longer looked mad, but confused and understanding at the same time. "And this damn power, I hate it, just like this bloody arm, because it all changes me! I'm not even who I was before. I used to be a simple girl who was thinking of becoming a vet. Now I'm a Jedi, a war hero, some animal talker, and it's all happening way too fast!" She stopped for a breath, then realized that she had nothing left to say. She felt completely drained.

Mical watched her. Not cautiously, just curiously. "Anything else you want to say?" he asked.

"No." She was exhausted. She half-expected him to lash out at her, but instead he got up.

"Come on. Let's just go back to sleep. You haven't slept well lately." He grinned in a good-natured to show that there was no harm done, and they walked back to the medbay.

_Afternoon..._

"Geez Beth, you and Mical are sure up late."

"Ya well, I had bad dreams."

"And him?"

"I slept-walked and kept waking him."

"You sleep walk?"

"Evidently."

This highly interesting conversation was between Beth and Justin when she finally woke up and wandered into the main hold with Mical. Justin noticed immediately that she looked a lot happier then she had last time he'd seen her. Well, that was good. Then she'd be ready for alcohol.

Brennen, Brianna, and Johnny eventually made their way into the main hold. For a few minutes they discussed the booze, then Johnny said "Hey! Where's Mira?"

"Beth killed her during the night," Brennen joked, testing her sense of humor. She chuckled.

"Oh you know it Brezu. I woke up last night and figured, Hell, why don't I just kill her? Save me the trouble of doing it later!"

The six of them laughed. Mira had decided to stay in the cargo hold. She'd told Justin that she didn't feel like seeing Beth, and made a nasty comment. He figured she was on her period or something and left her there. Some woman could have a vicious PMS. He was sure whole worlds had been destroyed because of it.

"Why don't we just start drinking now?" Justin suggested.

"I'm all for it," Beth said. She raised her voice. "Let's go everyone! We're getting DRUNK!!"

_Two hours later..._

It was always quite a scene when the crew of the Ebon Hawk got drunk. Justin and Mira were making mad love in the corner. Kreia had tried to hook up with Brennen again and now she and Brianna were in a fistfight. Of course, two girls, one young, one old, both drunk, was always a funny fight to see. Johnny, Bao-Dur and Atton were making bets on Beth and Mical, both of whom had a broken bottle in their hands and were circling each other slowly. Visas, HK and T3 looked over the group anxiously.

Mical made the first move, jabbing at Beth clumsily. She dodged, and swung at him. He ducked under the blow, then charged into her, driving her into a wall. She fell to one knee, the wind knocked out of her. Atton groaned. He'd been betting on her to win.

The three walked off, but Beth was up again. She stabbed Mical in the side with the bottle, but luckily she was too drunk to hit dead-on. Which meant that he didn't die, but the bottle glanced off to the side and ripped the skin on his side. He shouted, and pushed her back into the wall right next to Justin and Mira. Justin glanced over, winked at him, then continued with what he'd been doing.

Visas had been watching the fight between the two drunken idiots. She walked slowly across the room, avoiding Brianna and Kreia, who were still fighting. By the time she reached the two they had stopped fighting and were too distracted to care about the wound. She snorted. _What is this, make-out corner? _She thought, amused. She healed the wound on Mical's side. He didn't even glance at her.

Brennen finally stopped the fight between Brianna and Kreia. "Please ladies, fighting won't resolve our differences. Brianna, I'm sure Kreia meant no harm in trying to hook up with me. In fact, how about we compromise? Threesome anyone?" This resulted in the two woman turning on him and he was forced to run or be beaten to a pulp by drunk, angry woman.

"Come on Atton, pay up," Johnny said, holding out a hand.

"I can't believe she lost!" Atton whined, pulling out his credits and counting them.

"Looks like they both won," Bao-Dur commented as he watched them, grinning.

"Ha ha Bao. Now give me my money! Oh, one sec." Johnny stuck out his foot and Brennen tripped, slamming on the ground. The two woman fell on top of him. The three laughed as Brennen struggled to get out from under them.

"Double or nothing they keep him pinned down!" Atton called.

"You're on!" Johnny said.

"Guys! Don't bet on my misfortune!" Brennen complained. Luckily for him, and unluckily for Atton, T3 rolled over and pushed Kreia and Brianna off of Brennen, and he ran for a hiding place.

"Yes!" Johnny cheered. He put out a hand, and Atton threw the cash in his hand.

Beth glanced over at the hall leading to the cockpit. She smirked. "Mical, I got an idea," she said.

He shifted back. She nodded toward the cockpit with her head. "Come on, follow me."

Of course, trouble tended to follow Beth wherever she went. With Mical it doubled. When they were drunk, it tripled. So you can assume that something bad was about to happen as the two made their way down the hall.

"What are we doing?" he asked, his speech slurred a bit. He dropped down into the co-pilot's chair, dizzy.

Beth sat in the pilot's chair and began messing around with the controls. "Simple. We're gonna change the co-ordinates slightly." The ship suddenly veered to one side. "Ok, it was supposed to be slightly. In five days, we'll be somewhere. Only time will tell us where."

"Should we be doing this?" He rubbed his head.

"Come on! Where's your spirit of adventure?"

"I think you're mistaking me for you."

"Don't be boring. And keep quiet about it. No one will notice we changed the flight plan unless they look, and they'll only look if they think we're off course. Now let's get back to the main hold. I left my beer out there I think."

"No, you finished your beer. Remember? You stabbed me with it."

"Well, then I'll grab another one." They walked out.

The party was winding down by this time. Justin and Mira had passed out on the table, _with_ their clothes on at least. Justin shifted slightly, muttering "Ladies please! There's plenty of Justin to go around!" Bao-Dur was carrying a depressed Atton into the garage, with Johnny following, who was unable to walk a straight line. Visas was directing Kreia back to her room, HK was forcing an angry Brianna back into her room, T3 following, and Brennen was nowhere to be seen. Beth and Mical ended up tripping and passing out on the ground, just like last time.

_The next morning..._

"Shit, that was a mad party last night huh?" Justin laughed, Force healing the hangover out of everyone's heads.

"So mad I don't even remember what happened. How did I rip my robe again?" Mical was inspecting the tear on his right side. He thought he vaguely remembered something, but couldn't be sure.

Beth was sitting next to him, smirking.

"What?" he said.

"I had some weird ass dreams last night," she answered.

"Were they wet dreams?" Brennen asked. They'd found him sleeping behind some crates, but no one knew why he was there. Most were relieved they hadn't found him in Kreia's room.

"No they weren't wet dreams!" she snapped. "I said they were weird, not good."Johnny snorted. "Yes?"

"Good ass dreams," he muttered. They laughed. It was just so pointless.

"What were the dreams about?" Justin asked.

"Can't remember exactly. I was drunk in a house of mirrors I think, and all I remember is thinking 'So much beer, so little time'."

"A true Irish!" Justin announced. He, Brennen, Johnny and Beth cheered. Beth picked up a broken bottle.

"Was this mine?" she asked.

"Probably," Brennen answered.

The next few days passed thus in drinking, waking, and vague remembering. Beth and Mical had forgotten about the whole changing-the-ship's-course thing. In the five days till they reached what they thought was their destination, there were many fights, injuries, and broken bottles. Finally they arrived, all boozed out.

"All right, we should see Onderon now—What the?" Atton stared out the front of the ship. The four exiles frowned.

"Atton, where are we?" Justin asked.

"That–That's Nal Hutta. But...that's not possible. Not unless someone changed the ship's course." Beth blinked. Why did that sound familiar?

Justin let out an aggravated sigh. "It was probably one of us when we were drunk. One of us was stupid enough to change the ship's course. Look, just turn us around and take us back."

"I can't! We had enough fuel to reach Onderon, but no more! Shit, we might not even have enough to land this ship on Nal Hutta safely!"

"Well, try. We'll have to figure out some way to get fuel from the Hutts."

"They don't have the fuel. They probably buy any fuel they need from Nar Shadaa!"

"Can't we land there?"

"No, it's too far away."

Justin sighed. "Then just land on Nal Hutta and we'll figure out some way to get fuel from Nar Shadaa. If we survive the landing."

They stared at Nal Hutta as it slowly came closer. Justin couldn't help but wonder why things couldn't just be easy.

End Of Chapter 9


	10. Chapter 10

Knight of the Old Republic Chapter 10– It's Big, It's Wet, It Stinks. Welcome To Nal Hutta!

"Grab on to something guys! We're going in for a crash landing!"

This is what Atton called over the comm. The crew did as he said, but knew it would make very little difference. The ship crashed, skidding along the ground for a few seconds before stopping.

_One hour later..._

The Hutts had seen the ship crash. Many slithered towards it, wanting to see what it held. Each group brought many soldiers and mercenaries, preparing to fight for what was within it. But all it held were many unconscious humans and a couple damaged droids. Many of the Hutts left, uninterested. The rest bartered with each other, then went back to their homes, each with part of the Ebon Hawk's crew.

_Another hour later..._

Beth woke groggily, very sore. She started to sit up, but froze at the sound of chains rustling together. "Aw shit, I've been captured haven't I?" she muttered.

She heard something move towards her. She tried to jump up, but stumbled over the chains and fell. However, it was only Mical.

"Beth! Are you all right? You've been unconscious for an hour."

"Have I?" She rubbed her head. Mical had a gash across his forehead that had scabbed over. "What the Hell happened?"

"We crashed. Not enough fuel to reach the planet's surface safely."

"Where are the others?"

"Well, so far I've only seen you."

Beth inspected her chains. She had them around her wrists, her ankles, and even one around her throat. Mical was the same way. "So you don't know where the others are? Shitty. What are we gonna do?"

"I don't know. Wait I guess."

She couldn't just sit there though, so she turned to Mical. "Make sure nothing happens to me," she told him. He frowned at her, confused. "I'm gonna try and find out if there's any animals in this place, see if we can find out what's going on." Mical nodded, understanding. Beth leaned back against the wall and let her power flow through her. She reached out, increasing her range slowly, trying to feel for animals.

She paused. What was that? She tried to concentrate, let the creature take shape in her mind. It was big, no real shape, with a long, fat tail. She saw a flash of almond shaped, slitted eyes and jumped back, her range shortening so quickly she got a head rush. She put her hands over her face, feeling like her head was spinning. Mical grabbed her shoulder.

"Beth?"

"Ya?"

"You all right?"

"Ya..." She blinked, taking her hands away from her face. "I shouldn't have come back so fast."

"What?"

"I'll explain another time. Let's just say I reached out slowly and zoomed back in a matter of milliseconds." Then she remember why she'd come back with such speed. "Shit buddy, there's a Hutt out there."

"Excuse me? A Hutt? Where?"

"I don't know. I can't tell exacts. All I know is that there's a Hutt out there, and he's probably the one who captured us."

"Can you speak to him like you can with animals?"

"I don't know. Maybe. I know that when I feel for animals, I never feel humans. But does a Hutt count as an animal? No idea." Then she thought of something. "Did my eyes go black?"

"Not completely. Not like with...you know, Charlie and Roger. There was still a slight impression of your eyes."

"Maybe it only goes pitch when I lose control. Hey wait, Charlie and Roger! I wonder if they're in here. I'll be able to feel them, if not the others."

"Are you gonna try it now?"

"Ya, just remember, make sure I don't do something funny."

"Beth?" He was frowning.

"Ya?"

"Did you always have teeth like that?"

"Like what?" She touched them and froze. They were pointed at the ends. "Shit, am I growing fangs? That's creepy." She shook her head. "I'll figure it out later. I'll be back in a bit." Once again she let her power flow. She reached out. Her range stretched slightly faster this time. It wasn't long before she moved over the Hutt. Then she felt something else, somewhere under the Hutt. She stopped for a closer look. The creature began to form a sharp in her mind. Big, much bigger then the Hutt. Long arms, short legs, huge claws.

She flew back to her body even faster then before. This time she thought she was gonna be sick.

"Well? Anything?" Mical asked.

Beth stared at the ground, waiting for it to steady. Damn she was dizzy. _No way. _She thought. _Way too cliche. _

"Beth?"

"He has a Rancor," she said numbly.

"Oh you gotta be kidding me! A Rancor?"

"Yep. This could get shitty."

"What, you think we're gonna have to fight it or something?"

"I sincerely hope not." But a small part of her, well, actually a huge part of her, wanted to fight the Rancor. Just to see if she could win.

Suddenly the door opened. The two looked over. A Rodian threw a man inside and then left without a word.

They watched the man push himself off the ground. He wore ragged, brown clothes that were torn in several places, and had about a week's growth of beard. He looked up at them.

"So you're the new slaves huh?" he grunted roughly. "Well, you chose the worst Hutt to be enslaved by."

"Ya, because it was all our choice," Beth shot back. "Who are you?"

"I'm Ryan. I've been enslaved to Gadzooks The Hutt for years."

"Gadzooks The Hutt? What kind of dumb name is that?"

"We all know it's stupid, but don't say it to him. You may not live much longer if you do." He looked them over. "Ya, figures. He got the usual crap of the crop. Well, except for you." He nodded to Mical. "They probably let Gadzooks take you out of pity."

"You calling me crap?" Beth snapped.

"Compared to all the others they found at that ship? Ya. A bunch of grown, tough men and women, and Gad here got the teenage chick and a single tough guy."

Beth's annoyance passed immediately. "Others?"

"Well ya. I figured you'd know that, you were on the ship weren't you?"

"Where are they?"

"Not here. They'll be spread all over the planet by now, enslaved to fat worms."

"We gotta get out of here," Beth said, looking at Mical. "Find them." He nodded.

Ryan snorted. "Ya, well, good luck with that. Gad is weak as Hutts go, but that just makes him nastier. He's killed three slaves this week alone. Just dumps 'em in the pit!" He made a gesture of punching a button, and laughed gruffly.

"What pit?" Mical asked.

"Rancor pit." Ryan grinned. "Gad's got a secret pit under his platform. Well, not secret no more. We've known about it for years. Rancor's a big motherfucker. That thing lives much longer and we're gonna need a bigger pit! Gad calls him Lunch."

"Lunch? Ok, who names these guys? Gadzooks the Hutt, Lunch the Rancor. How do you take them seriously?"

"You do when you get dumped into it's jaws. But it's a bit late then." He laughed.

Beth looked at him warily. "I think the enslavement's getting to your head Ryan. You're nuts."

"They say when you get enslaved you're supposed to become emotionally dead. Then they can't hurt you."

"And what? You became brain dead?"

"Nah. Just tried to go with the flow."

"I think the flow of your brain waves is a bit disrupted."

"Ok, lay off the insults there girl."

"Will do." Beth saluted him. Then she started inspecting her chains again. These were rusted and chafed her skin, unlike the ones she'd been in on Tatooine. She especially hated the one around her throat. "Hey Idiot, do you know if there's anymore animals in this place beside Lunch?"

He thought for a moment. "No. I don't know. There could be." He sat down next to her. "So, seeing as we're not working right now, and won't be for a few hours, how 'bout you and me–"

"Piss off, she's mine," Mical snapped, putting her arm around her.

Ryan eyed him, but decided in the end not to start anything. He was pretty built after all his slave work, but Mical was also strong from his soldier training, and then the harsh training from Beth.

Beth smirked, and continued her inspection of the chains. Mical watched her. "I hope you're not trying to find a way to slip out of those," he muttered.

"Nah, but I can't just sit here and do nothing but get hit on by idiots with fried brains." Ryan glared at her. "Anyway, this isn't our only problem. We gotta get out of here, then search the whole bloody planet for our friends, then get fuel for our ship, repair any damages it inevitably took in the crash, and get out of here alive and with our hair smelling great."

"Why hair?"

"Why not hair?"

He shrugged. "Even without the hair–"

"There is no 'without the hair', Mical, not with me."

"Beth, shut up. Even without the hair thing, we'll be lucky to even survive this place. And searching the planet for everyone else? I don't know how we'll manage that and live. And then getting fuel and getting out?" He shook his head. "I don't know how we'll do all that."

"Look, me, Bao and HK can handle the repairs the ship will need. Don't worry about that. Of course, that's the last thing on our To-Do list. Let's handle one thing at a time. First, getting out of here alive."

He nodded, then stared at her hands. "Beth, do you have claws?"

She looked at her left hand. Then she lifted it up to see it better. Yes, each finger ended in a sharp claw. She raised her eyebrows. "What the Hell is going on? Why am I changing?"

"It must have something to do with your power." Mical took her hand in his own and looked at it more closely.

"What? You telling me I'm changing into the things I'm talking to?"

"I have no idea. But it looks as though you may not be able to hide your power for much longer."

She sighed. "Of course. Why must everything come back to haunt me?"

"Shush," Ryan said. "Someone's coming for us. They'll take you before Gad first, just so he can look you over." He winked.

"If you're implying that I, or Mical, will be entertainment for that fat son of a Hutt, you got another thing coming."

"Truthfully, you won't have much choice. If he wants you to dance for him, you will, or you will die."

"Fine. I'd rather die." Mical looked at her quickly. "What? I'm not growing horns or something am I?"

"No..." He pulled her back. "You'd actually rather die?"

"Oh ya. There's more chance of me winning a fight against Lunch then of me dancing for some fat slug."

"You actually want to fight that thing don't you?"

"What, Gad or Lunch?"

"It doesn't matter. You want to fight both."

"So what? That's not a crime!"

"Beth, you're gonna get us killed one day!"

"Well, then you dance for Gad!"

"Fuck that."

"Well, now you know how I feel."

"Ya, but I'm a man. A man in a dancing outfit isn't attractive to anyone."

"You'd be surprised."

"What?"

"Exactly."

But before Mical could ask about this statement, the door opened. It was the same Rodian as before. He pushed Ryan out of the way and walked towards the two Jedi. He took out a key and unlocked the chains. As soon as he'd done so Beth and Mical attacked him. Or tried. Beth got her foot tangled in one of the chains and tripped. She slammed into Mical and the two toppled on the ground.

The Rodian yelled at them angrily as they struggled to untangle themselves. The two finally managed to get on their feet again, but the Rodian threatened them with a gun. He yelled at them in his language, and even though they couldn't tell what he was saying, they knew he wanted them to follow him. They glanced at each other. It was either they followed the Rodian, or they got shot. It wasn't much of a choice. They let the Rodian lead them out of the room.

He led them down very dark hallways, then up a long staircase. Beth made a joke about a Hutt trying to slither up a staircase, which made the two of them laugh and the Rodian threaten them with the gun, and Beth gave him the finger, and then she got shot in the arm and she stopped laughing. Mical healed her though, when the Rodian wasn't looking. Then she snorted with laughter again.

"What is it this time?" Mical asked.

"I just pictured a Hutt pushed onto it's back and trying to get up." The two laughed. This time the Rodian just ignored them.

Finally they walked into the room which held Gadzooks The Hutt. He sat upon a platform in the center of the room. The Rodian directed them in front of the Hutt. The fat slug turned to them.

It started speaking in Huttese. Of course, they didn't understand Hutt, but luckily a protocol droid stepped up.

"He says you look like a fine female. He demands you–"

"Listen Gad you fat fuck, you better be talking about Mical, because there is no Goddamn way I'm dancing for you."

Gad roared angrily, and slammed his fist down on a button. The ground dropped out from under them and they fell. Not for long though. They slammed down on the ground a few seconds later. The two picked themselves up slowly.

"Well that wasn't so bad," Beth said, brushing herself off.

"It's about to get worse," Mical said, pointing.

Beth turned. "Oh shit. That is a big Rancor." Lunch came stomping out of the shadows, sniffing for the Jedi who had dropped in. He looked much bigger then the Rancor from Return Of The Jedi. The beast looked at them dimly, then roared and stomped towards them.

"Fuck fuck fuck!" Beth and Mical ran backwards. Beth tripped over a stone and fell. Mical started towards her, then stopped, looking at the Rancor. Beth leaped up.

"I have an idea!" she called to Mical.

"Is it a good one?"

"No. But I'm going to try it anyway!"

She ran straight at the Rancor. She prepared to leap, but then she tripped over another stone and slammed down on her chin. She heard Mical laugh at her.

"My turn!" He ran at the Rancor, knowing what Beth was going to try. He leaped at it's face, then realized in midair that Gad had taken his lightsaber. He slammed into Lunch's face, and grabbed hold. He looked into it's angry, monstrous eye and grinned sheepishly.

"Uh, hi?" Lunch roared, blowing him away and onto the ground again.

"How'd it go?" Beth asked.

"We need a weapon," he said as he stood up again.

"And I got one!" She raised her arms. All the rocks in the cave rose into the air. "Take this, Brunch!"

"It's Lunch," Mical corrected.

"Mical, who's side are you on?"

She threw the rocks at the Rancor. They slammed into him but his hide was so strong that it did nothing to him.

"Oh shit."

"Beth, I could have told you that would do nothing."

"Well, that was my plan, what's yours?"

Lunch stomped towards them again. They backed up. "Hey, uh, Beth? You got any miracles up your sleeve? Like with the Terentatek?"

"Well, let's see." Beth stopped walking. Mical watched her eyes darken again, becoming almost pitch black.

_Hey! Lunch! You hungry son of a shit! You wanna piss off!_

The Rancor paused. _Female? Are you speaking to me?_

Lunch's voice was a deep bass, but very clear. And loud. _Ya, I am. What's the deal here, trying to kill us? We did shit-all to you!_

_Hey, I eat whatever comes down here! I have to, or I'll die of starvation!_

_Then kill Gad! _Beth was having trouble holding the connection. She put her hands over her face. Damn his voice gave her a headache. _What's to stop big ass you from killing small ass Gad?_

_The door. _He pointed to the far wall. Mical, puzzled, looked over. There was a metal door imbedded in the stone.

Beth struggled to keep speaking,. It seemed the bigger the animal, the harder it was to speak with them. _Do you know how to open it?_

_I could break it with my claw, but why would I do that when I could just eat you instead? _He roared, and Beth shouted, breaking the connection.

"Damn," she panted. Mical looked at her. "It won't work. I can barely speak with him, there's no way I'll be able to order him around."

"You can't convince him?"

"Nope. He's too hungry for such things. He's half-starved down here." The Rancor approached them again. They backed up, but they were nearing the end of the cave. Beth glanced over his head. "I have an idea."

"Is it as reckless as the last one?"

"More so. And I won't even be attacking him." She Force jumped towards Lunch. He swiped a paw at her and smashed her into the wall.

"Shit!" Mical ran over. She lifted herself up carefully with her fake arm. Her left arm was broken and bloody. "Are you all right?"

She pushed herself into a siting position. "Can you heal it?" she asked, voice strained. He put out his hands, and a bluish hue surrounded them. Her arm snapped back into place. "First a wookiee, then a wampa, now a rancor. It just keeps getting bigger."

"Bad luck," he said, grinning. The rancor was turning towards them. "Listen, I'll try to distract him. You do what you need to do."

They stood. "That's stupid Mical, he'll kill you."

"And he nearly killed you right there, but that didn't stop you."

"It was my life, not yours."

"Then I'll do what you do."

"And that is?"

"Run into battle without thinking." And with that he ran at the rancor. Roaring, it slammed a fist down at him. He dodged to one side. Beth didn't bother watching any more. She Force jumped again, landing on the rancor's head. He was too distracted by Mical to notice. She looked up the hole they'd fallen through. She raised a hand, and made a swiping motion with it. The door slid open. She Force jumped again, straight up.

She landed in front of Gadzooks. "Hey mother fucker." She heard a howl from below her, and hoped to God Mical hadn't been killed yet. "I wanted to ask you about that pet rancor you got."

Gad was not very happy to see her. He yelled at her. The protocol droid stepped forward. "He demands you go kill yourself," the droid said bluntly. Beth noticed the hilts in it's hands.

She lunged at it, smashing it down. She ripped the lightsaber hilts out of the droid's hands, then lunged back. She grinned at Gad. "See ya later!" She jumped back into the hole.

She landed on the ground and heard a yell. She looked around. The rancor was near the other side of the cave, bending it's head down to sniff at something. Or eat something.

She ignited the two lightsabers and Force jumped once again. She landed on Lunch's back. He reared back, bellowing. He clawed at his back. She climbed up his spine to his head.

"You better not have hurt my boyfriend you shit. I mean it." She swung down in front of his face, holding onto his brow. "Peek-a-boo," she said. It howled, and she was blown away from his face and slammed on the ground.

She grunted. "Shit, this is hard ground." She looked at Mical, who dragged himself over. His leg had been broken and was sticking off at an odd angle.

"Hey," he said through gritted teeth. "I tried Force stun on him. Guess it doesn't work." They looked up at Luch, who was still trying to figure out what had fallen on his back. "Did you do what you wanted to do?"

"Ya." She rolled his lightsaber over to him. "Heal yourself, then help me kill this bastard." She stood, igniting her single lightsaber. Mical immediately healed himself, then got up.

"It still hurts. I swear my rib has never been the same since Tatooine."

"Quit whining. We got Lunch to deal with."

"You sure you can't get him to back off? What did you do to the Terentatek?"

"I dominated his mind and forced him to do what I said. But it's more difficult if the animal is bigger. Roger would be easy. Lunch is hard even to talk to."

"All right. Then we fight." He smirked. "You wanted to do this didn't you?"

"Ya. But I was hoping for a smaller rancor, a bigger room, and more in the way of weapons. I have yet to find another lightsaber. Hey, there's one under this rock." She kicked it over and grabbed the saber. "Yellow too! All right, now I'm ready. On the count of three. One two, three, GO!"

They jumped forward. Lunch swung a single paw, catching both of them and smashing them into the same wall as before.

"Fuck," Beth growled. She rolled over, leaning against the wall. "You all right Mic?"

"Ya..." He sat up. "I think my shoulder's dislocated."

He raised his other hand and healed them again. His shoulder cracked back into place. Beth laughed.

"That's so cool! Let's try that again!"

"Let's not," Mical said, shifting away. "I've got blood all over my robes. It's looks like they were originally red and I got something beige on them."

"Same here," Beth agreed, looking at the blood spatter from her arm. They stood again. "Ok, now let's–" The rancor slammed his palm into them, crushing them against the wall. There were a number of cracks, and then he pulled the hand away. The two fell forward, holding crushed ribs.

Neither spoke, Mical merely lifted a hand and healed them. "Should we even bother standing?" Mical muttered. They did however, and Lunch swiped his paw at them, smashing them across the room.

They crashed into another wall. This time they were motionless for a bit. Then Mical struggled to push himself up, just enough to heal them. Both his arms were broken, and he merely toppled, crying out in pain. Beth groaned loudly. How could a rancor called Lunch be so dangerous? She used her fake arm to push herself into a sitting position, and rolled Mical over.

"Use the power you shit," she grunted. He raised a bloody hand and struggled to heal them again. It didn't work so well this time. It healed the broken bones, just barely, but not the cuts and gashes.

Beth stood roughly. Blood was leaking out of her mouth, not from internal bleeding, but from an improperly healed broken jaw. She raised her hands slowly, towards the rancor. _Come on man, let us go._

_Never! You are nearly dead, soon I will feast on Jedi flesh! _

There was only one thing she could think of to say. _Jedi flesh makes you gay._

Lunch blinked. _What?_

She took the advantage. _That's right, it makes you gayer then...then a gay man. Eat us if you want, but you'll be gay forever. Is it really worth it?_

The rancor paused, then roared suddenly and charged forward. She tensed, but he ran past her and slammed a foot into the door. It broke open immediately, and he stepped back. _All right. Get out of here. I'm not turning queer for a meal. _

She and Mical ran through awkwardly on incompletely healed bones. They went for Gadzooks's room, wanting to settle the score.

They practically fell into the room. Gad stared at them, busted up and bloody but alive. Beth stepped forward.

"One: Where can we get new clothes. Two: Where can we change into those new clothes. And three: after that we kill you!"

Gad said something but they had no idea what he was saying and Beth had broken his droid. So they merely explored the room at their leisure. By the time they had finished, both had found some gammorrean armor, obviously meant for the extremely small ones, and put them on. Then they once again faced Gadzooks.

"All right Gadzooks The Hutt, time for you to die!" Beth grabbed a random spear off the ground and threw it through the Hutt's face. She made a show of dusting of her hands and turned back to Mical. "Well that's done. Now what?"

"I'm in so much pain right now," Mical said simply.

"You know you really do whine a lot."

"Whine a lot?! I have the right to whine when I'm with you! Shit, I nearly died about five times fighting that bloody rancor, and all you can say is 'You whine a lot'?"

Beth was laughing. "Oh come on! It wasn't that bad! We're alive aren't we?"

"Only because you somehow made Lunch open the door!"

"Huh. Lunch." The two walked out of the room. "Really is a funny name eh?"

"Hey, do we save Ryan or what?"

"Oh, you mean Idiot? Ya, why not." They headed back for the prison.

"Hey what happened to that Rodian any–" A large group of soldiers suddenly stepped in front of them. "Oh shit."

"You killed our leader!" one of them yelled.

"Damn straight!" Beth said proudly. Mical looked at her uneasily.

For a few moments the soldiers merely stared at them. Then suddenly they all fell to one knee. "All bow before the new leaders!"

"Whoa," Mical breathed. "Unexpected."

_Elsewhere on Nal Hutta..._

Justin woke up, sore as Hell. "Aw, I feel like I've been hit by a truck." He sat up, then noticed he had chains around his wrists. "What the fuck? Where am I?" He looked around. Next to him was Mira, and beyond her was Kreia.

"Hey! You two! Wake up!" He shook Mira's shoulder. "Hey! Come on! Up and at 'em!" Mira opened her eyes slowly.

"Where are we?" Mira asked.

"No damn clue." He picked up a small stone and threw it at Kreia. It hit her in the head and she jumped, waking. "I told you to wake up!"

Kreia looked at him, irritated. "Do that again and you will not like what happens next ."

"Ya? Well you can go to the simmering fires of Hell Kreia." Justin turned back to Mira. "So, back to more interesting people, are we on Nal Hutta?"

"We were when we crashed," Kreia said wryly. "I would assume we still are."

"Hey McBitch, wanna shut up?"

"Both of you, shush," Mira said. "We gotta work together if we gonna get out alive. We need a plan."

"How about we just go with the flow?"

"Hell, why not?"

A door opened in front of them. The three stood. Two gammorreans walked in and unlocked their chains. Then they gestured for them to follow and walked back out the door. The three looked at each other, then decided to follow the two pig-like creatures.

They were led down a long hallway which was lit up at the end. Justin made a joke about a light at the end of a dark tunnel, which was lost on everyone present. He didn't bother explaining it.

A few minutes later they entered the brightly lit room. It was filled with just about every alien species imaginable. One of the gammorreans pointed to the center of the room, where a huge Hutt sat on a moving platform.

Justin, Mira and Kreia stepped forward. The Hutt looked at them. "I am Grand Puba The Hutt," he rumbled.

Justin stared. Puba was speaking Huttese, but he understood it. He smirked and said "Ooba goochie, wookiee nipple pinchie."

Grand Puba stared at him. "How do you know Huttese?" he asked.

"Because I am P-H-At the Hutt. We'll hook you up old school."

Puba gaped at him. "He is our god!" he announced. All the aliens in the room bowed down, falling to their knees.

It was Justin's turn to be surprised. "A god? Sweet!" he said excitedly.

_On the other side of the planet..._

Brennen woke, feeling like crap. He groaned, and looked around. He saw Brianna, who was already awake, talking to Atton, who was looking pretty roughed up. There was also someone he didn't know in the corner of the room, wearing ragged brownish clothes with a scruff of beard and long, dark hair he kept tied back.

"Brezu! You're awake!" Brianna said cheerfully.

"Obviously." He shifted. "Do you know where we are?"

"You're on Nal Hutta, and you've been enslaved by Fantabulous The Hutt," the mystery man answered.

"And who the Hell are you?"

"I'm Random Billie. I've been a slave for a few years now. Not for much longer though." He turned to the wall and pushed aside a pile of rags, revealing a hole. The man, Billie, picked up a random piece of stone continued scraping away at the hole. "We'll be out by the end of the day as long as no one sees this hole."

Brennen listened. "Someone's coming," he said. Billie paused, then pushed the rags back in front of the hole.

Three men walked in. "You three, let's go," one said, pointing at him, Brianna and Atton. Each had a gun, so they figured they'd better do as the minions said.

The three were led through a twisting corridor. Brennen made a joke about Fantabulous jumping out at them suddenly, and the minions threatened him with their guns. He went silent after that.

They walked around another twist and suddenly Fantabulous lunged out at them, scaring the shit out of all six of them.

"Wo ho ho ho ho ho," the Hutt laughed with his typical Hutt laugh. "I got you good!"

Of course, only Brennen understood this, so he said "Ya ya, real hilarious fat ass. So what do you want with us?"

"You will be my slaves," he answered. "I just want to look you over."

"Look this over!" Brennen shot back, flipping him off. One of the minions smashed him in the jaw. "Ow..."

"They will be fine!" Fantabulous decided. "Put them back in their cell, I will call for them later. And especially her," he added, winking his fat Hutt eye at Brianna. Brennen bristled. Was it just him, or was everyone out to get his girl?

The minions dumped the three back in the cell. Right after they left, Billie started scraping at the wall again.

Atton looked at Brennen. "So what did Hutt boy want?"

"Look us over. Just before we start slave labor."

"There! We're through!" The three looked over. Billie smelled the air, grinning. "Ah, the smell of freedom!"

"Smells like a Hutt's backside," Brennen said, wrinkling his nose.

"Oh shut up." Billie climbed through the hole and fell through the other side. They heard a squelching sound, and then Billie looked through the hole at them. "Come on! Let's get out of here!"

Brennen pushed himself through the hole and fell immediately into a swamp. "Aw gross! It's in my mouth!"

"Shush! They'll hear you!" Billie whispered.

"Who?" Brennen looked around. He didn't see anything around that could possibly hide an eavesdropper. There wasn't even a window in the stone wall. He helped Brianna crawl through the hole so she wouldn't fall facefirst into the sick much around there feet. Then he pulled Atton through and dumped him unceremoniously on the ground.

"So what now?" Brennen asked Billie.

"Simple. We run for it!" He ran off. The other three followed him, though it was very hard to run through swampland. They fell often, and it wasn't long till the four of them all smelled like a Hutt had sat on them for a very long time. But at least they had escaped their prison.

_Somewhere on the planet..._

Johnny was already awake and bashing the door. He wasn't sure why. Probably just bored. In the room with him was Visas, Bao-Dur and Iziz. The three others watched him wearily. At least none of them were chained up.

Suddenly a trandoshan slammed the door open. It hissed at them angrily, and even though Johnny didn't know the language he could tell the trandoshan was tired of him banging on the door. He slammed the door shut again.

Johnny turned to the others, who were laughing. Iziz pointed at him and made mocking chatter. Johnny threatened to strangle, but Bao-Dur told him to calm down and sit in the corner.

Johnny sat but was bored. _If they're gonna kill us, why can't they just get over with it? _He thought.

_Meanwhile..._

"So you called Gad a fat fuck."

"Yep."

"Refused to dance for him."

"Yep."

"Told his rancor that eating you two would make him gay."

"Yep."

"Then killed Gad."

"Yep."

"And both of you are still alive."

"Yep."

"And now rule this place."

"You got it."

"How did you manage all that?"

"I have no fucking clue."

It was true that Beth and Mical now were the technical rulers of Gad's old palace. They'd immediately ordered that Ryan be freed, and now the three were wandering around, trying to figure out what to do.

They went back to the main room where Gadzooks had used to be. His soldiers, well, Beth and Mical's now, had cleared away his corpse. Beth climbed up onto his platform, then suddenly jumped off.

"Get that platform out of here," she ordered a couple soldiers. They saluted her and sat to breaking it into smaller pieces and carrying it away. "Damn that thing stinks. Do Hutts not wash?"

"No, I don't think so," Ryan answered. "Maybe it's against their customs."

"Maybe. Anyway, we gotta find the others. You!" She pointed at one of the soldiers, a human. He hurried forward. "Do you know who else took humans from the ship that crashed here?"

"No," he answered. "There were many Hutts present when the slaves were taken away. Uh no offense, of course, to you," he added hurriedly. "There may be a way to find out though."

"How?" Mical asked.

The man picked up a laptop and carried it to them. "Here. Sit down and I'll show you." The four grabbed chairs and the man opened the laptop. Beth and Mical leaned in for a closer look.

"What's that, eBay?" Beth asked.

"No, it's called eHutt," the soldier answered.

"eHutt?"

"Yes. Many Hutts are willing to sell their slaves...at a price of course. The only problem with this approach is that Gadzooks the Hutt was very poor. You won't be able to buy any more then one or two slaves this way."

"I could call every Hutt on Nal Hutta and give them death threats and blackmail them until they give me my friends."

"Yes, but this is the Nal Hutta address book." The man grabbed a giant book and slammed it down in front of them. It reached their knees. "And there's still the Hutts that are unlisted."

"Ok," Beth said slowly. She thought for a moment, then grabbed the laptop. "Of course I had to take over the one kingdom that was poor. Give me that computer. I have an idea."

"What's the idea?" Mical asked as the soldier walked off to continue his duties.

"I'll see if I can find a Hutt selling one of our friends. Then I'll call him up in the address book. I threaten to cut off his fat tail and tell him I saw him with another Hutt that wasn't his wife. Then I ask politely for his slaves."

"Aren't Hutts asexual?"

"Are they? Shit. Ok, then I threaten to cut off his fat tail and say I saw him, I don't know, eating. Fuck, I'm terrible at blackmail."

"Just make a death threat then. You're great at those."

"I don't know if I should be pleased or insulted." She turned back to the laptop. "Ok, searching for...You know, I just realized "Slaves" will bring up about a million results. Ryan, get that book ready."

"You're not really gonna try that are you?" Ryan asked as he sat down in front of the book. "I mean, I'm insane, but even I wouldn't type in "Slave" and called up every number."

"Ryan, were you in the mandalorian wars?"

"Yes, why?"

"Were you in a platoon under a female Jedi called Master Beth?"

"I...Yes, actually I was."

"Well, it may frighten you to know that I am that Jedi. And as your commanding officer, I order you to prepare that book for serious reading."

"Yes sir," he grumbled, and opened the book.

_Elsewhere..._

Grand Puba had declared Justin a god, and he was being treated thusly. He had his own Hutt platform, his own slave girl(or he would if Mira hadn't forced him to get rid of it)and he ruled over the palace. Unlike Beth and Mical, however, this was a rich Hutt kingdom, so he could have afforded to buy all the slaves he wanted. But he didn't think of that.

"Hey Puba, you know that ship that crashed?"

"Yes," he answered.

"And the humans inside it, who were taken by Hutts all around the planet?"

"Yes."

"Do you know which Hutts they were?"

Puba thought for a moment. "I remember Gadzooks the Hutt being there. He's poor, always get the ooba of the doochie."

"You mean crap of the crop?"

"Whatever. Ooba of the doochie. Anyway, I also remember that it was Giggles the Hutt who took a couple droids. Can't really remember who else. A lot of different faces, too little memory."

"Can I call Gadzooks? See if I can come to some agreement over the slaves he took?"

"I suppose." He roared to one of the men running about his palace to get him a phone. The soldier brought it fearfully. Justin grabbed it.

"Thanks Puba." He picked up the phone. "What's the number?"

It was a very long phone number, about thirty numbers. But finally he got it in, and waited for Gad to pick up the phone.

_In Gad's palace..._

"All right, sorry about the whole tail thing." Beth hung up the phone. "Ok, that makes one thousand two hundred and thirty four Hutts who didn't take any slaves. Ooh, Ryan, look up the name Tickles The Hutt." Ryan flicked open the book. The phone rang suddenly. Mical picked it up while Beth looked at the computer screen.

"Mm-hmm. Slaves huh? You want to talk to Gad? One second." Mical looked at Beth. "Some Hutt wants to speak to Gad, says his name is P-H-At The Hutt, and he'll hook me up old school."

"Give me that." Beth took the phone of out his hand without even glancing up. "This is Gad," she said in a deep voice. "I know I'm not speaking Huttese, please forgive me, I'm an idiot." She listened. "Slaves? What about them? Nah, they ain't for sale. Ooh, that much huh? Look, I'll call you back later. Give me your number and I'll talk to you later, ok?" She pulled a piece of paper towards her and wrote down a long string of numbers. "Ok, I'll consider your offer. I have to go now, lots to do." She hung up.

"What was that about?" Ryan asked as he flipped through the pages, looking for Tickles.

"Some Hutt who wanted to buy all the slaves Gad has. He specified for the ones from our crashed ship surprisingly. You find that number yet?"

"Yep. Tickles The Hutt." He read out the number, and Beth dialed it.

"Hello, Tickles? Ya, this Gadzooks The Hutt. Ya, I just wanted to tell you that I saw what you did last week, and I am sickened. I'm gonna tell everyone unless you give me all the slaves you took from the ship that crashed here." She paused. "Oh, you weren't even there? My apologies. Ya, sorry about that whole tell-everyone thing." She hung up. "One thousand two hundred and thirty five Hutts that don't have the slaves we're looking for. Ok, how about this one: Breakfast The Hutt."

Ryan sighed. "This wasn't what I thought I'd be doing with my freedom," he muttered.

_Back in Grand Puba's palace..._

Justin hung up. "He said he'd consider it. Sounded familiar though."

Puba snorted. "He'll take it. He's too poor not to take it. He just doesn't want to seem desperate."

"You sure you don't remember any other Hutts who took slaves from the ship?"

Puba thought about it. "Well, you might want to call Giggles about the droids first. Of course, he's a real asshole. It'll take a lot of cash to get those droids back."

"I'll call him. Just give me the number."

_Gad's palace..._

"All right, this one says he has a Jawa as a slave. It could be Iziz. Name is Utensils The Hutt. Ryan?"

"Aw, why do I have to do this? Mical isn't doing anything!"

"No, but Mical wasn't in my squadron. You were. Now get to work soldier!"

Ryan exhaled loudly and began flipping through the pages for Utensils The Hutt. "Here. Utensils." he told her the long ass number. She dialed it.

"Hello Utensils. This is Gad. I'm gonna pull out your eyes and use them for golf balls if you don't give me the slaves you got from the crashed ship the other day. No, I'm not joking. Ten thousand credits each! And how many do you have? One male, one female, a Zabrak and a Jawa? And ten thousand for each? Holy Hutt shit, what's that, like thirty thousand credits right there!" She paused to listen. "No, I'm pretty sure it's only thirty. Fine, I'll give you forty thousand. Cheap ass."

"Mistress, we don't have that much," one of the soldiers whispered.

"Really? Hmm. What? No, I'm not talking to you, Utensils. Look, you bring the slaves and we'll give you the cash, got it? I'm not going over there, you want the cash you come here!" She hung up and turned to the soldier. "How much does Gad have?"

"Twenty-five thousand, no more."

"Then looks like we'll to sell ourselves." She began dialing another number.

"You calling P-H?" Mical asked.

"Yep. Hope he'll pay fifteen thousand for us or we're boned."

_Grand Puba's palace..._

The phone rang. Justin answered it. "P-H-At The Hutt's sperm bank. You whack it we sack it. Oh, hey Gad. Ya, I'll still buy the slaves. Fifteen thousand! Holy Hutt piss! How about ten? No? One sec." He looked at Puba. "We got fifteen thousand credits we can spare?" Puba nodded. "All right, fine. Fifteen thousand. We'll over there soon." He hung up. "We can get the slaves back, but we gotta go over there."

"We have some swoops you can take. He'll take you to them." He pointed at some random guard. "Will you be coming back after?"

"Probably. Thanks Puba." He turned to Mira and Kreia, who had been sitting quietly in the corner. "Come on you two." The three followed the guard out of the room.

He took them to another room. There was a giant door at the other end, and Justin could see some light at the edges. It probably led outside. There was a bunch of swoops in the room.

"Feel free to take any of these, P-H-At The Hutt," the guard said. "Here is the fifteen thousand credits for the slaves. Gadzooks's palace is to the north." He left.

"Sweet," Justin said, climbing onto a swoop. Mira pocketed the credits.

"What's it like to be considered a god?" Mira asked as she got on another swoop. The giant door creaked open.

"Pretty good. All right guys, let's go!" The three rode off on the swoops, heading north.

_Gad's palace..._

"Shit, what do you mean Utensils is already here?" Beth exclaimed.

"His palace is not very far away," the soldier said meekly.

"Fuck! Where am I gonna get another fifteen grand!" She turned to Mical and Ryan. "Any ideas?"

"Ooh, let's give them pie!" Ryan answered eagerly.

"Pie? Why pie?"

"Everyone likes pie!"

"Ya, well, I've yet to meet a Hutt that would give up four slaves for pie." She sighed, and put her hands over her face. "My eyes hurt."

Mical frowned. "That's obscure–Holy Hell!" he said as she pulled her hands away.

"What?"

Mical grabbed a mirror off a table and held it in front of her face. She raised her eyebrows in surprise. Her eyes were no longer blue, but yellow with slit pupils. "Oh shit. I'm changing again."

He put down the mirror. "I wonder what'll happen if you keep going on like this. At least it's not extreme changes, so far it's only been your teeth, your hands and your eyes, but what if it becomes more radical?"

"Radical man!" Ryan cheered. They ignored him.

"Well, we'll worry about that later. Right now we gotta figure out a way to get our friends back."

_A few seconds later..._

"Twenty thousand," Beth said. She, Mical and Ryan stood outside in front of a legion of men. Bad, rough looking men.

"No," their leader, a Selkath, said. "Forty thousand if you want the slaves."

Johnny, Visas, Bao-Dur and Iziz were chained up and guarded a few feet away. All had stared in surprise at the sight of Beth and Mical dressed in gammorrean armor. Of course, no one knew yet that Gad was dead. Utensils's men thought that they were messengers or something.

"The man and Zabrak look strong, but there's also a female and a jawa," Mical said. "How do we know they're good workers?"

"They are!" the Selkath yelled. "Forty thousand was the agreed price! Give us forty thousand, or we'll turn around and leave!"

"Ooh, I don't know if Utensils is gonna like that," Beth said. "He expects money, and if you go back and say you refused a fair price I don't think he'll be very happy."

"To Hell with you!" the Selkath snapped. He whipped out a sword. His army followed suit. "Utensils said this would happen. Gad is a pathetic excuse for a Hutt! We'll just take your palace by force, and keep the slaves!"

Beth, Mical and Ryan stepped back, then ran back into the palace. "Shut that door!" she shouted to the guard. He slammed it shut immediately and locked it. The Selkath banged on the door.

"Who is it?" Ryan called, grinning.

"Your death!" he howled, and suddenly they heard the sound of blaster fire barraging the door.

"I don't remember ordering that," Ryan said.

Beth grabbed him and pulled him away from the door. "All right, this is war, and I know war. You! Guard!"

"Yes?" he asked timidly.

"Put mines in front of that door! Two, no three rows! If they get through, we'll have a nice surprise for them." She laughed. "You!" She pointed at another man who had come to investigate the noises. "Get everyone in this palace armed! Swords, blasters, anything you can find."

"Yes sir!" He ran off.

"They have us outnumbered," Mical said worriedly as they walked to the Rancor's cave. "There's now way we'll win."

"Oh really? Ryan, how many times did we go into battle outnumbered?"

"More often then not," he answered, grinning insanely.

"And how often did we win?"

"Ninety nine percent of the time."

"Exactly." She stood outside the rancor's cave now, where there used to be a door. "Don't doubt me Mical. I've won harder battles then this." She walked through the doorway. "Hey Lunch! You hungry?"

"Beth! Are you insane?" Mical hissed as the rancor turned to face them.

"Yes, Mical, and that is why I win. You might have heard me, or one of the others, say it, but I only let the borderline insane into my squadrons and platoons. Why do you think Ryan was in it?" She gestured at him. Ryan was staring at Lunch and laughing at it's immense size.

The rancor had been sleeping. He looked at Beth blearily. _What is it now, short female?_

"Oh, I was wondering if you'd like to kill an army and have a meal at the same time."

He perked up. _A meal? How? What? When?_

"Listen, there's an army trying to break down our door. They're going to get in, and even with the land mines there's gonna be a ton of guys getting in here. We're massively outnumbered, and if I learned anything from war, it's that you take advantage of every opportunity."

_Get to the point short female._

Beth thought about how weird it had to be Mical and Ryan, who only heard one part of this conversation. "We're gonna bust down this wall here–" She pointed to the stone wall surrounding the door "–and when the enemy comes running through here, and they will inevitably, you can eat as many as you want. Unless these four are with them."

She closed her eyes, threw her hands towards Lunch and used her power again. She entered the rancor's mind, just like she did with the Terentatek, except she didn't dominate his mind. She pictured Johnny, Visas, Bao-Dur and Iziz. She had no idea how she was doing it, but he understood.

_You don't want these four dead? Fine. But I'm only doing this because I'm getting a big meal out of it._

"Thanks Lunch." She walked out of the door and grabbed a man who was running by. "Get some explosives and break this wall down. Don't injure the rancor inside."

The man blanched. "But–But sir–!"

"And stop calling me sir! My name is Master Beth, and you will call me that. Now blow down this wall. The rancor won't hurt you. Come on you two." The three ran back to the main room. Ryan was grinning. Mical was worried.

"Beth, you sure this is a good idea?"

"Not at all, Mic."

"What if we blow down the wall and he goes on a huge rampage of the base?"

There was an explosion coming from the rancor's cave. "Then we'll be screwed. Look Mical, we don't have a lot of choices here. In war, sometimes you have to make snap decisions. We're being attacked now, not tomorrow. Which means no time for thinking."

"This better work."

"It will. And if it doesn't, we'll die." She shrugged, as though death wasn't much of a punishment.

Ryan suddenly leaped from behind a chair. "Beth Beth, look!" He was dressed in gammorrean armor that was much too big for him. He was struggling to lift a gammorrean cleaver too, but was too weak and gave up. Beth shook her head.

"Ryan, here." She threw him a sword. "Use this. You'll actually be able to lift it."

He fumbled and nearly dropped the sword. Mical made a face. "You sure Ryan can fight?" he asked Beth quietly.

"Ya, he's just clumsy. Don't worry too much."

"He'll be the one worrying if he accidently sticks that sword in my arm," he said, watching Ryan swing the sword clumsily.

Suddenly someone shouted "They're through!" followed by explosions and yells. The three ran to the door, looking down the hallway. They couldn't see anything yet. Beth pulled them back in.

"Got your lightsaber ready Mical?" Beth asked.

"Yep." He held the hilt in his hand.

"Ryan, got your insanity ready?"

"As always!" He laughed.

"Then come on." She led them out. Then they felt the ground shaking, and a roar. Beth swore and started running. She rounded a corner and saw Lunch at the entrance to the palace, smashing aside the enemy soldiers. However, he kept to the deal and did not attack their allies.

Beth Force jumped onto the rancor's back. "Hello, enemy soldiers!" she called. The fighting paused for a moment, and Utensils's men looked up at her. "I am Master Beth, and you will give us the slaves, or we will rampage through your army and destroy you. And in Lunch's case, eat you!"

"Fuck you!" one of the soldiers yelled. He lifted a bowcaster and fired. It slammed into her shoulder and she fell off the rancor. The fighting broke out again.

Mical and Ryan ran up to her. She ripped out the bolt. "Damn it! What are they doing with bowcasters?"

"It's just to piss you off Beth," Mical said.

She jumped up, then leaped onto Lunch's back again. "Hey! Where's the owner of this bolt!" she shouted. One of the men laughed and waved his bowcaster in the air. She dived into the crowd of soldiers, igniting her lightsaber. She stabbed the man, then spun, slashing off the head of another. Mical jumped next to her.

"You're insane!" he shouted over the noises of battle. The two quickly cleared the area of enemies. The soldiers hadn't been expecting two Jedi.

"Just like old times!" she called, laughing. "Jumping into battle without considering the consequences!"

With two Jedi and a rancor, not even the legion of troops could defeat Gad's men. It wasn't long before the Selkath, their leader, was calling a retreat. Beth shouted for her soldiers to let them go. Lunch stomped after them though, killing and eating many before finally letting the few remaining troops go.

Gad's men cheered. Mical smirked. "Nicely done Beth. You actually managed to bring victory to these guys."

"Ya, but where're the slaves? This whole battle was just so we could get them back."

"They're right here!" Ryan called. Beth and Mical walked over. Their four friends were still in chains on the ground. "Lunch put 'em here."

"You call that rancor Lunch?" Johnny asked. "Twisted sense of humor."

"Ah, he ain't so bad," she said as the rancor stomped back into the palace. "Once you get to know him."

"Whatever," Johnny said. "Just get us out of these chains."

Beth leaned down and used her lightsaber to carefully slice off the chains. Iziz was the one who noticed her clawed hand. He chattered excitedly, drawing everyone's eyes.

"Shut up you stupid jawa!" Beth snapped. She pulled her hand away quickly, putting it in her pocket.

Luckily, no one could understand the jawa, so everyone just ignored him. "Now come on, we gotta get out of here before P-H gets here."

"Who's P-H?" Bao asked.

"Some Hutt I sold us to so I could buy you guys. No time to explain now, we gotta get out of here. You!" She pointed to one of the men. "When P-H gets here, tell him we're dead or something. We had to be killed, I don't know. Just make an excuse for us. Don't tell him where we went though, got it?"

"Are you leaving us?" the soldier asked.

"Afraid so. Vote for a new leader or something. We can't stay here anymore. Now come on you guys." She started to lead them out, but then Johnny spoke up.

"Who says you're the leader?" he demanded.

"Lorenti, there's no time for this right now."

"Then make time! Why should you lead?"

"Why should _you _lead?! We saved your damn ass from Utensils The Hutt, you can at least be grateful!"

"All you did was go recklessly into battle! Anyone could've done the same!"

"Don't you speak to my officer like that!" Ryan snapped, coming to Beth's defense.

"Who the Hell are you?" Johnny asked nastily.

"This is Ryan, an old friend," Beth said, defending him just as he had. "You wouldn't like him Lorenti, he was a much better pilot then you."

Ryan laughed. "Oh, you're that Lorenti? Ya, I remember you. I was with you in your first space battle. I went to sleep just watching you."

Johnny bristled angrily. Mical, Visas, Bao and Iziz watched them uneasily. "I should strangle the life out of you, you little punk!" Johnny snarled. He stepped forward threateningly, reaching for his lightsaber. Beth glanced at it.

"Hey, how come you got to keep your lightsaber and we didn't?" she asked suddenly.

"What?" He looked at it. "I don't know. It was just, you know, in my pocket."

"Can we just go?" Mical said.

"Ya come on." Beth led them out. Johnny didn't bother arguing. He didn't want them to bring up his poor piloting skills again.

They weren't sure which way the Ebon Hawk was, so they just walked off in some direction. Beth was starting hate walking.

_On the other side of the planet..._

Brennen, Brianna, Atton and Random Billie were still running across Nal Hutta. Not for much longer though. Brianna finally slowed down and said "Guys, no farther. I'm tired."

Brennen, Atton and Billie looked at each other as they also slowed to a stop. They'd been running for an hour straight, and it was especially difficult to run through swampland, so they decided to stop here for a breather. They sat in a small circle, so wet from falling in the gross slop that they didn't even care about sitting in it anymore.

Atton and Brianna fell asleep quickly. But Brennen couldn't sleep. His mind was still spinning from the day's events. He looked over at Billie, who was still awake.

"How long have you been a slave?" Brennen asked quietly so he wouldn't wake the others.

"Three or four years." he answered. "I went to Nar Shadaa with my brother Ryan, and some guys knocked us out and took us here. We were slaves together for about a month, and then we got sold to different Hutts. I haven't seen him since."

"Shitty." Brennen leaned back. "I'm trying to save the galaxy from the Sith, bit it's pretty hard when we keep getting side-tracked. And now I don't know where my friends are, or my ship. And even of I did know, it doesn't matter because our ship has no fuel."

"No fuel eh?" Billie lied down on the ground, arms behind his head. "You know you could probably get some fuel from Vogga The Hutt, also known as Goggles The Hutt. He's on Nar Shadaa though."

"Yet another barrier," Brennen sighed. He closed his eyes. Maybe he'd go to sleep and wake up in the morning and everything would be all better.

_The next morning..._

"Holy shit! Brezu, is that you?"

Brennen sat up tiredly. "Ya, it's me," he mumbled, unsure who he was speaking you.

"Hey, it's Beth! Shit, what happened to you?" Atton said suddenly.

Brennen looked up quickly. Standing in front of the four of them was Beth, Mical, Johnny, Iziz, Visas, Bao-Dur and some bearded guy he didn't recognize. But Billie did.

"Ryan!" He leaped up. The man looked over at him. Brennen couldn't help but noticed what looked like the light of insanity in his eyes.

"Billie!" The two hugged each other. The rest of them stared, then Brennen remembered his conversation with Billie about his brother.

"Ryan, what the fuck's going on?" Beth asked, always the blunt one.

"Dude, this guy's my brother!" Ryan said excitedly.

"You have a brother?"

"Beth, how'd you find us?" Brennen asked.

"We walked all damn bloody night, and then all damn bloody morning, and then I stepped on Brianna. She freaked out, I freaked out, then I noticed you there and things got weird." She nodded at Ryan and Billie.

"Do you know where the ship is?" Mical asked.

"Nope. Not a fucking clue."

"Then I guess we'll just keep walking this way," Beth said, nodding in the direction they'd been going.

"That'll take us forever! And even if we do, what's the point? Ship's trashed, and we got no fuel..."

"Hey, uh, Brezu? Shut up. Quit whining."

"Ya, unless you got a better idea, shut up," Johnny said.

"Oh ya, this coming from Mr. Crappy Pilot."

"Beth, shut up."

"Come on, let's just go." Beth led them away.

_Back at Gad's palace..._

"What do you mean they're gone?!" Justin yelled.

"They escaped," the guard who had greeted him said. "We were fighting a battle, and they escaped in the midst of the chaos."

Justin punched the wall angrily. "Fuck! She's always just _one _step ahead of me! Fuck!"

"Do you at least know which way they went?" Mira asked. The guard shook his head.

"There may be another way to follow them," Kreia said as they walked back to their swoops.

"And that is?" Justin asked.

"She and her friend are force users. Perhaps we can feel them..."

Justin frowned, then shook his head, about to object to such a stupid plan. Then suddenly he remembered Hoth, where she'd turned directly to the wampa's cave and said that Beth was still alive.

"All right Kreia. Use your almighty gift and find Beth, and Brennen too if you can." What? He wasn't about to give her an easy time.

She did not reply, but merely stood there. Then she got on her swoop. "Follow me," she said briskly, and then sped off. Justin and Mira leaped onto their swoops and hurried after her.

_Back across the planet..._

"Ahhh, fucking swamp land!" Beth's foot had just sunk right up to her knee. Ryan and Mical helped her pull herself back out. "I can't wait till we get off this planet."

"Oh come on Beth," Brennen said. "Don't you love splashing around in a planet that smells like a rotting Hutt?"

"It smells like a few hundred rotting Hutts! And now we do too!" She was irritated by the whole experience. Especially since the gammorrean armor was much heavier then it looked, especially when they'd been walking for hours.

Ryan wasn't much help, because he didn't seem to notice the smell at all. Nor did he notice the fact that he was soaked with swamp water. And he looked ridiculous in the armor that was too big for him.

It was about an hour later that they decided to stop for a rest. Beth, Mical and Ryan were tired from first the battle in Gad's palace, and then the non-stop traveling. And so they sat down in small groups and chilled out, either talking or sleeping. Beth was talking to Iziz, discussing some problem she was having with her fake arm. Brennen was there too, so he could translate for her. Ryan edged over to Mical.

"So, is she actually yours?" he whispered.

"Yes," he snapped. Truthfully, he didn't like Ryan. He didn't see why Beth had to keep him around. The guy was nuts, he was irritating, and he seemed intent on getting Beth for himself. Mical was only a step away from snapping his neck.

"All right, well then how about her?" Ryan nodded to Brianna.

"She's Brezu's girlfriend. Now listen you chicken shit." Mical grabbed him by the front of his armor. "You'd better back off, or things won't go so well for you."

"Geez, calm down. I was just asking." He smirked. "What, you worried she might get someone worthwhile?"

He drew back his fist to bash his lights out, but Beth had walked over at just that moment..

"Mical! What are you doing?" She pushed him back, away from Ryan.

"He was threatening me, Beth," Ryan whimpered, sounding like a lost dog. "He was gonna hit me."

"Ryan, go see Billie," Beth said, turning to Mical. Ryan grinned at him smugly before running off. "And what was that about?" she said quietly, so no one else could hear.

"Why do you have to keep him around?" Mical said nastily, also keeping his voice low.

"Mical, I see you shooting mean looks at him all the time. You can't just–"

"Ya?" Mical interrupted angrily. "Well, if you like him so much, why don't you just go out with him instead?" Mical turned to leave, but Beth grabbed his arm.

"Mical, quit that! You know I don't like Ryan like that! What is it exactly that you don't like about him?"

He spun on her so rapidly she thought for a second he was gonna hit her. "He's a sneaky little bastard, acting like he's so strong and so impressive–"

"Ah, I see." Beth grinned slightly. "He likes me doesn't he? Well Mical, I wouldn't worry too much. He's always been like that, and I've always ignored him. Did you honestly think I'd dump you for some maniac? He was in my platoons and my squadrons, but I'd never want him in my life. All right?"

"I still don't like him," Mical persisted stubbornly.

"Well, you're just gonna have to get over that. Ryan always thought he was quite the ladies man."

"Hey! Piss off you little runt!" The two looked over at Brennen, who was threatening Ryan with his lightsaber. Ryan was scurrying away, laughing like an idiot. "Come near Brianna again and I'll gut you like a fish!"

"Can you gut someone with a lightsaber?" Beth wondered.

"You can try," Mical answered. Ryan ran over to them.

"What did you do, soldier?" Beth asked sternly.

"I tried to cop a feel," he answered, smirking. Mical stiffened, and glared at him. Evidently he didn't find the humor in this statement. Beth did though, and laughed slightly.

"I always told you that would shorten your lifespan substantially." Then she bristled, and listened.

"What is it?" Mical asked.

"Shush," she said quietly. She strained to hear, but couldn't over all the noises of the others. She raised her voice. "Guys, we may not be alone for long." She squinted at the horizon behind them. "I think someone's coming."

Johnny looked in the direction she was. "I don't see anything. Are you sure? You never really did have good eyesight."

That was certainly true. But she was sure she saw something. A few somethings. "They're swoops I think," she said. "Three. Maybe we should hide."

"Hide? Hide where?" Brennen asked. "In the amazingly tall grass that at it's tallest might hide your gizka? We'll just have to face them. Besides, you said there's only three." He looked behind them. "Although I still don't see anything. Did you get telescope eyes while you were enslaved or what?"

Brennen glanced at her, looked away, then did a double take. Did her eyes look different? But she turned to speak to Mical and he couldn't see them anymore. Probably just his imagination anyway.

"Well, maybe we should get going," Brennen suggested uneasily. "Come on, let's go." He turned to keep walking the way they'd been going. The others followed, but everyone was a bit uneasy that Beth could see something none of them could. It made things very ominous. Many of them kept glancing over their shoulders for the unknown men that were supposedly following them.

Brennen suddenly became aware of a dull hum. He frowned, then turned his head. Suddenly he stopped and spun. "Guys, we got company." He whipped out his lightsaber and ignited it.

The others followed his lead, preparing their weapons and themselves. Just as Beth had said, three swoops were speeding towards them. It was only a few seconds before they were upon them. Brennen slammed down his lightsaber on the front of one, and it flipped over and over, crashing into the ground a few yards away.

"Mira!" Justin leaped off one of the other swoops and ran over to the crashed one. "Shit Brezu, what's your problem?!"

Mira was fine, only a bit dazed. And wet. She noted this with anger.

"Damn it!' she snapped, looking at her soaked robe. "Thanks a lot Brezu!"

"Whoops," he said humorously.

"Whoops? That's all you have to say for yourself? I should–"

"Mira, shut up," Beth said wearily.

"Don't tell me what to do, you and your freakish animal thing–"

"Animal thing?" Justin frowned. "What are you talking about?" He glanced at Beth. She said nothing.

"You should have seen it! It was only yesterday I think, I came out to the main hold and she ordered her animals to attack me! Mical was there, just ask him!"

"Mira, that's bullshit," Mical said. "Beth didn't do that, you just pissed off the animals. That's not a special power."

Justin shook his head. "Whatever. We don't have time for arguments. Let's just find the ship."

"Do you know where it is?" Beth asked. Justin thought there was something weird about her eyes, but she wasn't looking at him, so he couldn't be sure.

"Uh, no. I guess we should have asked Grand Puba."

"Wait a minute, I knew I recognized that voice—Are you P-H-At The Hutt?" Mical asked.

"What? Oh that. Ya, I am. They think I'm a god over at Puba's. Pretty wicked. But we could ask for directions over there." He pointed. They looked. Another Hutt palace was about a mile away.

They ran over to it. When they stood in front of the giant door, Beth stepped forward. "Let me and Mical handle this. We're the rulers of Gad's palace."

"No, me. I'm technically a god." Justin pushed her aside. She glared at him. And then he saw it. "Beth, what happened to your eyes?" She went to turn her face away, but Justin grabbed her chin and looked into her eyes. Yes, they were a yellow color, with slitted pupils. It seemed so obvious now, he wasn't sure how he'd missed it before.

Mical pulled her back out of his grip. He and Justin looked defiantly at each other. Justin wasn't sure what to do. He'd wanted to let Beth live her own life, but she was still his sister. He wanted to know what the Hell was going on here, and obviously Mical knew, so he figured rightfully, as her brother, he should know too.

"Beth, what's going on?" he asked. "Why are your eyes like that?"

"Maybe–Maybe I'll tell you another time," Beth answered. She kept her eyes downcast.

"Look, all three of us will handle this ok?" Justin decided. He banged a fist on the door.

A few moments later the door opened. About twenty soldiers stood there, angry and bristling. A sullustan stepped forward, holding a wicked looking blaster rifle. "What do you want?" he snarled, eyeing their group with an evil eye.

Beth held up a hand in a friendly greeting. "Hello, kind sullustan! I am F-B-P-L The Hutt, and this–" She gestured to Mical "–is my friend, uh, Mical The Hutt. We come from Gad's palace on a mission of peace and to, uh, ask for directions."

"And I am P-H-At The Hutt. We'll hook you up old school!" Justin put in. "I am considered a god in Grand Puba The Hutt's palace. I travel with F-B-P-L and Mical on a similar mission of peace, and also to ask for directions."

"And them?" The sullustan pointed to the rest of the group standing behind them.

"They are...soldiers!" Beth said. "Just to keep us safe."

"Not for long! Get 'em!" The group of soldier's started firing at them. Beth, Mical and Justin were startled and didn't pull out their lightsabers before getting shot two or three times. They backed up quickly, swallowing shouts of pain.

However, they didn't retreat for long. They got the rest of their group together and charged the soldiers. They were dead in moments. Justin gestured for everyone to follow him, and they stormed the palace, forced to fight all the way to the Hutt's room.

Finally they smashed through the door to a huge room. There was nothing inside except the biggest Hutt any of them had ever seen. He was about the size of five or six Hutts. He looked over at them as Bao and Iziz broke the console next to the door, locking it.

"And what are you doing in the palace of Glutinous Maximus?" he asked breathlessly. Suddenly from behind him HK and T3 stepped out into the open.

"Statement: Masters! It is very good to see you, especially after enduring this fat lump's stories of supposed 'grandeur'." T3 beeped and agreement. The two hurried over to them.

"I thought Giggles The Hutt had the droids," Justin said.

"He sold them to me this morning," Glutinous panted. Was he breathless from talking? "Is that why you're here? To steal my droids?"

"First off, they're mine. Second, we want to know the way to the ship that crashed here." Beth was looking over the two droids for damages.

"Why should I tell you where the ship is?"

"Because we'll give you a diet plan you fat fuck!" Brennen said, laughing. "Maybe then you can breathe in without losing your breath!"

"Fine. I'll you where it is...If you can kill the monsters in my pit first!" He smashed a fist the size of their torso into a button on his platform. The floor dropped out from under the exiles. The four slammed onto the ground a few seconds later. It was completely dark.

"What was with that?" Brennen said, standing. The four ignited their lightsabers, trying to create a sort of torch. Suddenly however, a bunch of lights in the roof of the pit lit up, practically blinding them.

"Oh shit," Johnny gulped. The four looked across the cave at three zakkegs, two wampas, and one huge rancor that made Lunch look like a gizka in comparison.

"Oh shit indeed," Justin agreed. "What the Hell are lightsabers gonna do against all this?"

"One sec," Beth said. She stepped ahead of the others and threw her hands forward. "Let me try something." Shit, she couldn't do this. She couldn't stop Lunch. But maybe she could trick them somehow...

She threw her power out and over the six creatures while they were still adjusting themselves to the sudden light. She remembered putting pictures of her friends in Lunch's head; she was hoping she could do something like that again.

But suddenly their were voices roaring in her head, and she could barely hold on to the connection. _Shut the fuck up! Holy fuck you're loud!_

The animals quieted down, but only for a moment. _Who are you to order us around? _one of the wampas snarled.

Beth wasn't quite sure what to say to that. She thought suddenly of Charlie, and the wampas saw. _What are you doing with one of our cubs? _another wampa demanded. _Stick to your own kind, putrid human!_

Beth couldn't really deny that she was putrid after traveling in Hutt land for a day or so. _I saved him actually. His mother is dead, he would have followed her path had I left him alone. _The wampas roared at her, accusations and insults flying through her mind. She shouted for silence again, still through the mind speak thing. The animals shut up.

Justin, Brennen and Johnny watched Beth worriedly. It was completely silent in the cave, and nothing moved, not even the beasts. The three of them had no idea what was going on, but Justin had a good idea that this had something to do with Beth's secret.

Beth had no idea what she was doing anymore. Their were so many voices in her head that she couldn't think straight. _Come on guys, shut up! Let me think for a second here!_

_Piss off short female! We don't have to listen to you! _This was one of the Zakkegs.

She sighed. _Why does everyone have to call me short? _The creatures started getting riled up, preparing for an attack. _Hey wait! Uh, you sure you wanna kill us?_

_Silence female! _The rancor roared. Beth turned to the others, but did not break the connection.

"Shit Beth! What the Hell happened to your eyes?!" Brennen exclaimed.

"What?" Her voice sounded strange coming from her mouth instead of her mind.

"Your eyes are, like, pitch black! What the fuck is with you!?"

She had no idea what he was talking about. She still couldn't think very clearly. She held the connection but barely noticed it. It was also getting very hard to see.

"Holy shit," Brennen said suddenly.

"What?" she said. Or tried to say. Something was wrong with her jaw. Suddenly she felt a dim pain in her bones, but it was growing steadily. She fell to her knees. She heard the sounds of surprise from the animals.

She shook violently, then she felt a sudden ripping pain. She shouted, but then everything stopped. She stood slowly, and what she noticed immediately was that she was suddenly much taller.

Justin gulped. This creature in front of him was not Beth. It didn't even looked remotely like her, unless you counted the mechanical arm. The thing slightly resembled a dragon. It was about as tall as Johnny, maybe a bit taller. It's skin was not much like human skin, except that it was a greenish color with a touch of blue. It had clawed hands and feet, and a long tail edged with spikes. It's face held a long snout, which housed a set of long fangs. It had a nose horn, and two longer horns on it's forehead that slanted back, and a crest of black hair that went from the top of it's head to the back of it's neck. It's eyes were yellow with slit pupils, and Justin immediately thought back to when he looked Beth in the eyes outside

"What? Why are you looking at me like that?" the thing asked. It's voice was deep and a bit scratchy.

"Beth?" Johnny said cautiously.

"Ya..." She looked from one to the other. "What? Do I have something on my face?"

"Only a long snout and some teeth," Brennen answered.

She raised a hand to her face, and froze. "Aw shit..." She looked down at herself. "I guess the changes became more radical."

"More radical?!" Justin exclaimed. "Holy Hutt nuts Beth, you're a fucking dragon!"

The rancor growled quietly. Beth turned to it, and Justin noticed a pair of folded wings that had tore through the back of her armor. Justin stared as the animals sat back, no longer aggressive. Then suddenly the rancor leaped up, roared and stomped towards them. Justin braced himself, knowing he was screwed, but the creature stepped over them and rammed into the wall. It cracked loudly. The exiles stepped back from the wall. The rancor smashed into it again, and it broke even more. The rancor howled, and threw itself at the wall one last time. This time, the beast broke through and the four exiles heard screams erupting from outside as the animals poured from the room.

Justin, Brennen and Johnny walked up to Beth. She was changing back quite rapidly, and by the time they reached her she was human again, although she still had clawed fingers, pointed teeth and yellow eyes.

"Ok Beth," Justin said. "What the Hell is going on here?"

She sighed. She couldn't hide her secret anymore. She told them everything she knew about her power, right down to the individual times she'd used her power and how it was sometimes harder to use then others. She didn't tell them about the time she lost control of it though. It was almost a relief to tell them. It was very tiring, trying to keep the secret away from them.

"So, recently you started changing?" Justin asked when she'd finished.

"Ya, but it was only slight changes. I don't know how I changed into an animal. I think it might have had something to do with the amount of power I was using. Of course, I could be wrong. The sand-people didn't know much about it either."

They walked through the hole in the wall. Justin had one more thing to ask though.

"Why didn't you tell us this before?"

"I don't know. Part of it was the jokes that I figured would come out of it. But, I guess in a way, I was hoping it would be something that could remain buried. Something that could be forgotten. It was just something that changed me from who I used to be, and I sorta hated it for that. I don't know, I'm just weird."

They went back to the Glutinous's room. The rest of their group were still waiting for them.

"What did you do to my creatures?" Glutinous rumbled.

"I convinced them to see it our way," Beth answered, grinning. "Now, tell us where the ship is."

"Fine!" he roared. "Go east of here! Eventually you'll come upon the ship! But it doesn't matter. It doesn't have any fuel anyway."

"Then I guess you'll be giving us a ship eh? How about you give us a ship that'll take us to Nar Shadaa, and we'll get fuel from there?"

"Why should I do that?"

Beth ignited her lightsaber and leaped forward. She held the weapon to the Hutt's throat. "I killed Gad and took over his kingdom. I'll do the same to you if you don't give us that ship."

He looked at her uneasily. "All right, I'll give you a ship!"

"Thank you," she said, stepping back.

_One hour later..._

Beth, Bao-Dur, Mical, Ryan, Iziz, HK-47 and T3-M4 were at the ship, making repairs. Inside it was Atton, Kreia, and Visas. Justin, Mira, Brennen, Brianna, Johnny and Random Billie had taken a ship to Nar Shadaa to convince Vogga, or Goggles, to give them some fuel for the ship. Her group were working on the repairs. Well, some of them. Many had decided to sit in the ship and be useless.

"Ow! Dammit!" Ryan dropped his hydrospanner and held his hand. Beth grinned. Well, even some of the people outside trying to help were being useless. She didn't mind so much though. Things could be much worse then they were. At least none of them were enslaved. Or dead.

They'd found Roger and Charlie in the ship. After the crash they'd hid themselves so the Hutts couldn't find them. Of course, after the Hutts had gone the animals had been left with nothing to do but wait and hope the others would come back.

"Hope they manage to get the fuel," Mical whispered. He examined some of the wiring in front of him. "If they don't, I'm not sure what we'll do."

"We'll go back to Gad's palace and rule it with an iron fist!" she joked. She waved her fist in the air, and Mical laughed. The thought of Beth even trying to rule with an iron fist was hilarious. "Don't worry too much about the fuel." She tapped the ship with a tool and it sparked. "We got this hunk of crap to worry about!" He smirked and nodded.

End Of Chapter 10


	11. Chapter 11

Knights Of The Old Republic chapter 11– Struggling For A Foothold, Settling For A Beer

"Back on Nar Shadaa. What a shame."

Justin, Mira, Brennen, Brianna, Johnny and Billie had reached Nar Shadaa. They set out immediately for the docks, because that was where Vogga, or Goggles, was. Well, he had his own section to himself, but they figured they could find a way in.

But first, a trip to the cantina.

"Guys, just don't get too drunk, ok?" Brianna said.

"Ya ya, whatever," Justin said, waving his hand at her. He picked up his drink and took a gulp. Suddenly a twi'lek approached the group.

"I heard you want to meet with Goggles The Hutt," he said quietly.

"How? We haven't mentioned it since we left the ship," Brennen said.

"Listen, you want to meet him right?" They nodded. "Well, he told me to get him a new dancer, so if you could find someone suitable, then all you'd have to do is put on this dancing outfit and I'll bring you to him." He put down what he said was a dancing outfit, but appeared to be little more then a bra and underwear. "If you wish to take me up on the offer, then meet me outside of his headquarters." He walked off.

The group grabbed the dancing outfit and stepped out of the cantina. They stood looking at it, then Justin looked at the others. "So, who wants to dance for a Hutt? Mira?"

"Screw that," she answered.

"Brianna?"

"No!" both Brianna and Brennen snapped.

"How 'bout you Lorenti?"

Johnny rolled his eyes. "Ya right."

"Brezu?"

"Hell no."

"Billie?"

"I'd rather be a slave again."

"Well then who's gonna wear the bloody outfit?" he said, irritated. They all looked at him. "What? Why is everyone looking at me like that?"

_A few minutes later..._

"I don't know how you guys manage to talk me into these things," Justin grumbled as he stood outside Goggles's door wearing the outfit.

"Shut up and look sexy," Brennen ordered, grinning.

The door opened and they stepped into the Hutt's room. Justin stood in front of Goggles and didn't move.

"Uh, Jaise?" Johnny said.

"I don't know how to dance," he hissed.

However, Goggles didn't want him to dance. "What is this?" he roared in Huttese. "When I asked for a dancer, I didn't mean a male!"

"Listen, Goggles–"

"And why is everyone calling me Goggles lately?"

"We just wanted to ask you if you could sell us some fuel for our ship."

"I will as long as you put on some clothes."

Brennen snorted and handed Justin his robe. He put it on right away. Feeling much more comfortable, he turned back to Goggles. "So, you'll sell us some fuel?"

"Yes, I suppose I can. Where is it?"

"The ship? On Nal Hutta being repaired."

"Oh, so it's delivery now too? That'll up the cost. What kind of a ship is it?"

"A smuggler vessel I guess."

"Well, give me the co-ordinates to it and I'll ship some fuel there."

"How much will this cost us?"

The Hutt considered. "Five thousand credits," he decided.

The group dug into their pockets and threw their credits together. Usually Beth carried the credits, but Justin had taken some money from Grand Puba's palace. They managed to scrape together the five grand and handed it over to the Hutt. He counted it out, making sure he wasn't being cheated, then ordered the fuel to be sent to the planet. Justin told him where the ship was, and he assured them it would reach the planet shortly.

The group thanked him and left, going back to their ship. Well, they stopped at the cantina for a few more drinks, but then they went back to the ship.

_Nal Hutta..._

Beth sealed the compartment shut, then stepped back, admiring her work. The ship was trashed, but they were bringing it along. It would be fixed, if not by the end of that day, then by the next day.

"Hey, T3, go get me a drink or something!" Beth called to the droid. He beeped and rolled onto the ship. She, T3, HK, Mical, Bao, Ryan, and Iziz were still working on the ship. It was hard work, and they didn't stop for breaks very often, and even the most cautious of them was bound to get shocked, but all wanted to get off the planet as soon as possible.

Ryan shouted, and clutched his hand. Beth sighed. It was the third time he'd gone and fried himself. He was a good mechanic, but clumsy. Beth was worried that he'd get himself killed soon enough.

Visas stepped off the ship. "Someone's on the phone," she told them. "Says they want to speak to Gadzooks or something."

"That's for me," Beth said. She put down her tools and walked onto the ship. T3 rolled by with a glass of beer on his head. Beth grabbed it, thanking him and then picked up the phone. "Hello, Beth's beating service, you pick it we kick it. Oh hey. Ya, I was wondering how that was going. You picked a leader? Cool. Who is it? Lunch? You chose a rancor to lead you? Well, it's your choice. Ya, I'm leaving soon. How'd you get my number anyway? I left it there? But I never wrote it down...uh, hello?" She put down the phone. "Huh. They hung up."

"Who was that?" Atton asked.

"Just some palace I ruled for a bit." She walked back outside.

For about two hours they continued the repairs on the ship. Then Visas walked out saying that someone had called and told them that they had a shipment of fuel coming in the next hour. Beth was surprised. She'd half-expected something catastrophic to happen, but it seemed things were going smoothly. Then suddenly Bao-Dur swore and backed away from the ship. The others glanced over. Part of the ship was smoking.

The rest of the group ran back from the ship. There was an explosion and they were pelted by bits of metal and shrapnel from the ship. Beth glanced back. There was a blackened patch on the ship, still smoking slightly.

"Bao, what the Hell happened?" Beth asked, rubbing her arm where a piece of metal had ripped open the skin.

"I have no idea. I was just fixing some of the wires and then it started smoking." He inspected the damage. "Well, it's not so bad. I'll just get some more parts from inside the ship. I guess it was supposed to be red to yellow, instead of red to blue." He ran onto the ship.

Beth continued working on her part of the ship. She noticed a chunk of metal farther in, just sitting there. She reached in with her metal arm, and put her hand over the metal. Suddenly there was a clunk, and another piece of metal fell from somewhere in the ship and slammed down on her arm.

She shouted, struggling to pull herself out. Mical, hearing her, walked over and pulled her out. She looked at her arm, crushed slightly and sparking a bit. She swore and kicked her toolbox over.

"I thought you said this arm doesn't feel anything," Mical said, mistaking her anger for pain anger.

"It doesn't!" she fumed. "This ship is such a piece of junk! Now I got two things to fix!" She grabbed one of her tools off the ground and began working on getting her arm to stop sparking.

"Are you mad about something?" Mical asked, watching her.

"No. Just impatient. I hate Nal Hutta. And I'm tired of this ship fucking up in every way possible."

"You have an extremely foul mouth, you know that?"

He'd just said it to distract her from her anger, and it worked. She snorted with laughter.

"Ya, I know. But you're such a whiner, even if my language was butterflies and bunnies you'd complain."

He laughed. "You also call me a whiner a lot."

"Does it hurt your feelings?" Her tone held amusement and the implication that she didn't care how much it hurt him when she told him he whined a lot.

"Hey guys! There's a ship coming on for a landing!" Atton called from the ship.

They glanced up. A fairly big ship landed not too far away. A group of soldiers filed off. A man approached them.

"Who is your leader?" he asked. They turned to Beth, and she stepped forward.

"I am. What's your business here?"

"A friend of yours, goes by the name Jaise, ordered fuel to be brought to your ship." He looked past her at the Ebon Hawk. "Although it looks like it could use a bit more then just fuel."

"Ya, we're working on it. Just load the fuel on the ship. Atton will show you where, just ask him." She went back to work, and the soldiers began dumping the fuel in the ship.

"How come Jaise and the others aren't back yet?" Bao asked.

"Probably got drunk or something. Just like last time we went to Nar Shadaa. Lord knows they probably forgot they were supposed to come back. Now come on, we gotta get this ship up and running." They continued their work on the ship.

_Dusk..._

"Isn't it beautiful?" Beth said.

"What, the ship?" Mical asked. "No, it looks like we took a pile of scrap metal and taped it together."

"Well, at least it's working. That makes it beautiful enough."

The ship was indeed working, and with it fixed and refueled they could get going whenever they wanted. Justin and the others had returned from Nar Shadaa a bit drunk, well, a lot drunk, about an hour or two before.

"Come on," Beth said. "I hate Nal Hutta now. Let's get out of here."

_One hour later..._

"And we are outta here! Atton announced as they went to lightspeed. "This time we're going to Onderon, and nothing's gonna stop us!"

_Moving the plot forward..._

"Damn," Atton said. "Look at the line-up! It'll take us forever to reach Onderon."

Suddenly a voice crackled over the radio. "Ahh, the Ebon Hawk. I was told to expect you." Suddenly the ship rocked back and forth.

"Shit! He's shooting at us!" Atton said. The attack on the Ebon Hawk had created a chain reaction though. A few shots had missed, and hit another ship. Thinking it was being attacked, it fired on another ship. This one shot at another, and within a few moments all the ships were attacking each other. It was getting very dangerous to be in the area, especially since Beth was fighting to get at the controls and give their attacker a piece of her mind.

"Take us down to Dxun!" Justin said as he forced Beth out of the cockpit. "We're not gonna get to Onderon at this rate! We'll be killed!"

"All right, I'm taking us down!" Atton called.

"Awww!" Beth said.

_On Dxun's surface..._

"Oh Goddamn it, it's raining. I hate rain," Johnny complained.

"Oh shut up," Beth said. "It could be much worse then this."

"Ya, we could be on Nal Hutta," Brennen said.

"All of you, shut up," Justin said. "It's gonna be awhile before those ships stop their space battle, so we may as well explore."

The usual group stood outside the ship: Justin, Mira, Beth, Mical, Brennen, Brianna and Johnny. However, Ryan and Billie also wanted to come. Justin stood before them.

"All right men, let's MOVE OUT!!" He led them off into the forest. Dxun was a jungle moon, and it was supposedly uninhabited, except by Cannoks, Maalras(strange leopard like creatures), and Bomas (green hairless animals who looked a bit like dinosaurs). The four exiles knew better though, but kept their mouths shut.

The jungle was difficult to walk through, being so thick and wild. Beth and Brennen walked ahead of the others and slashed a path through the trees with their lightsabers. Often some sort of creature of the woods would leap out at them, but they'd be killed before any damage could be done. They finally stumbled out of the jungle and into a large clearing.

Justin frowned. There were torches in this place, and obvious signs of a fire. The air shimmered in front of them, and three mandalorians appeared in front of them.

"Don't move Jedi," one ordered. "We got you surrounded." All around them mandalorians were appearing out of the air.

"Since when were mandalorians magicians?" Ryan laughed.

"Be quiet. We have stealth field generators. Now follow us. Mandalore wants to meet with you."

"Didn't we kill him in the war?" Brennen asked.

"We have a new Mandalore now," the mandalorian sneered. "Are you going to follow us, or do we have to force you to come?" The mandalorians lifted their guns.

"Ya ya, we'll come," Justin said quickly. He didn't feel like getting shot today. The nine of them allowed themselves to be led away.

He took them to their camp, which was surprisingly high-tech for a base surrounded by jungle. He directed them into a building, which held a single mandalorian. He turned to them.

"I am Mandalore, the leader of this camp," he said. "You were the ones who started that space battle weren't you? Impressive."

"Well, we didn't actually, but don't worry, we're used to getting blamed for things," Justin said. "Anyway, we're just trying to get to Onderon. If you could find it in your heart to help us..."

"I do go to Onderon occasionally. Perhaps I can take you with me...Why do you want to go to Onderon?"

"Find a Jedi master," Justin answered.

"Wait, were we supposed to tell him that?" Johnny asked.

"I don't fucking know. The fact is I did."

"Well, I'm going tomorrow. You guys can stay in the camp until then," Mandalore said. They nodded and walked out of the building.

"So what now?" Billie asked.

"I don't know. We can wander about aimlessly for the rest of the day," Justin said.

"Aw, but that's lame!" Ryan complained.

"Well, if we go into the jungle then suddenly we'll have started more trouble and this chapter will end up being fifty pages long!" Justin snapped.

"Chapter? What the Hell are you talking about?" Beth asked.

"Uh, nothing. Nothing."

"But–"

"Beth, I said nothing!"

She shrugged and walked off to explore the camp. Mical and Ryan followed her. Justin shook his head. In his experience of Ryan the past few days, the guy was a total nutcase. Mical obviously didn't like him, but Beth didn't seem to mind having him around.

Justin, Mira and Johnny went off in another direction. Brennen, Brianna and Billie walked off to check out a few new mandalorian recruits who were training with each other. However, trouble was always two steps away with the group.

Beth looked inside another building, then turned to Mical. She frowned.

"Where's Ryan?"

"What?" He turned to look behind him. "I thought he was there..."

"Shit!" She slapped a hand over her face, frustrated. "I told you to keep an eye on him!"

"I only looked away for a minute!" he retorted.

"Fuck, that idiot probably went into the jungle!" She sighed.

"We could just leave him to die," he suggested hopefully.

"Mical, don't be an ass. We gotta go after him. Come on." She led him to the gate. "I know I'm gonna regret this."

_One hour later..._

Justin scratched his head. "So none of you have seen Beth?" They shook their heads. "Well, we can't go after them. It'll be nightfall in an hour. We'll just get lost. Beth will have to find her own way out."

_In the jungle..._

"Have we explored enough to decide that Ryan is just dead and go back to the camp?" Mical asked.

"Afraid not. Quit being a wuss! It's not like we've come across anything too dangerous."

"No, but I can see us getting lost."

The two had tried to follow Ryan's trail through the jungle, but the bastard hadn't been chopping his way through like they had been, and neither were trackers, so they had no idea which way he'd gone. So for the past hour they'd been walking along some sort of old animal-made trail. They found the occasional cannok, but nothing very dangerous. Mical looked up at the sky.

"Beth, is it getting late?"

She looked up. "Maybe. I don't know. It could just be overcast."

"I don't see any clouds though. It's getting really dark."

"What? You scared of the dark?"

"No. But big, scary animals tend to come out at night." He grinned.

"Ooh, now I'm scared too. Fuck, they're just animals. What's the worst thing we'll find, a boma?"

"No, but how about a zakkeg?" He stopped walking. She looked forward, and stopped too.

The zakkeg stood only a few yards away. They hadn't seen it because of the darkness. But now it seemed painfully obvious. It sniffed at the air, then turned to them, glaring.

"One sec Mical. I told one of these to leave last time I was here. I'll just do it again." She started forward, but then it charged at them, roaring.

"Hard to do with an angry animal?" Mical asked.

"Yep." They'd leaped over the creature, landing behind it. Beth jumped again, landing on it's back. "Maybe my power will better like this." She forced herself into it's mind, using more of her power then usual. Suddenly she became very aware of the amount of animals in the area. And they became very aware of her.

She leaped back, but forgot once again to break the connection. "Mical, I just made things worse," she said.

Mical listened to the crashing sounds of approaching beasts. "Beth, what do you–" He stared at her. "Beth, what the Hell are you doing?"

She was changing again. It was less painful this time, and much quicker. She turned into the dragon thing again within moments. Too late, she broke her connection to the animals.

"Ah Hell, not again," she growled, looking at her hands.

"Holy shit!" Mical exclaimed. "What the Hell is this?"

"I told you about it didn't I?" she said, looking at him. She was head and shoulders taller then him.

"Ya, but I didn't expect–This!"

The zakkeg looked at her uncertainly, then stomped away. Beth listened for the animals, but they were gone too.

"The beasts left," she said to Mical.

"There must be something about this form that impresses animals or something," Mical said. "It was something like on Nal Hutta, when you scared the rancor, the wampas and the zakkegs."

"I don't know. This power is weird." She sniffed at the air. "Damn my sense of smell is strong when I'm like this. And things are _loud_."

"I guess you get better senses as a...dragon thing. Hey!" His eyes lit up. "You think you can track Ryan or something?"

She looked down at him. "You reduce me to a mere hunting dog?"

"Yes I do. Come on! I don't want to find him, but you do, so unless you want to be in this jungle for another week, I suggest you put your nose to the ground and start sniffing!"

"Oh fine." She ducked down on all fours like a dog. "But you owe me for this." She sniffed at the ground. "I think he may have come by here." She ran off down the trail. He followed.

She didn't look where she was going though, and ran flat into a boma. A big one too. She stepped back. The boma snarled at her, baring it's teeth. She jumped up on her back legs and whipped out her lightsaber.

"I win." She slammed the blade through the boma's face. Mical walked up next to her.

"You wanna slow down?" he snapped, panting. "You know, just because you have lungs that apparently stop you from losing your breath doesn't mean the rest of us do!"

"Go to Hell!" she shot back, and then they heard someone call out.

"Beth! Mical!" Ryan ran forward out of the trees, then paused at the sight of Beth's new shape. "Uh, hi?"

"Ryan, it's Beth, all right? Don't bother asking how, it'll take too long to answer. Now why did you have to leave the camp?"

"Well, it was just so damn boring!" he said, exasperated. "So I figured I'd just take a little walk, but then I got lost and the boma chased me into the forest but then I heard you guys and now I'm safe!" He hugged Beth tightly. She looked blank for a moment, and then pushed him off.

"Hey, piss off! What are you, a child?" She snorted, then looked around. "Anyway, we gotta get out of here. Jaise is gonna be pissed when we get back."

"Oh." Ryan looked a bit sheepish. "Well, maybe we can pretend we never left?"

"Ya, that'd be the day," Mical snapped. "We've been gone for hours, only an idiot like you wouldn't have noticed that we were gone."

"Mical, ease off," Beth said. Ryan stared at the ground, feeling ridiculous. She dragged Mical away. "Why are you always being so hard on him?"

"Because I don't like him!" he said angrily. "All he does is get himself, and us, into trouble. We can't watch him all the time, he's gonna get himself killed!"

"He hasn't changed much from the war," Beth said. "Everyone in my platoon were like that. Even me. We were bored easily, but back then we had battles to distract us. I guess I got over the war better then him."

"What, you saying he's a crazy warbrain or something?"

"I don't know. I have no damn clue. Ryan was always a difficult person to understand."

"We should have left him at the ship. Or on Nal Hutta." The latter obviously appealed to him more.

"Mical, you're just gonna have to learn to live with him."

"I don't see why."

"Because _I_ learned to live with him." She was getting impatient.

"Look, I'll see what I can do."

"You'd better. I'm sick of asking nicely."

She walked back over to Ryan. "Come on. Let's get back to the camp." The three started their journey back.

"Hey Beth, when do you change back to a, you know, human?" Mical asked.

"When I want to," Beth answered. "When I release my hold on my power."

"Well that explains a lot more." This statement was very sarcastic.

"Well, fuck, I don't how to explain it any better!"

Of course, neither of them considered the noise they were making. There was a rustle in the trees, and three men leaped out. One ran up and slammed a sword through Beth's heart.

Or so he'd thought. She froze for a moment, then, with an irritated air about her, she pulled the sword out and stabbed it threw the man's throat.

He fell, coughing. The two others stared at their dead comrade, looked up at her, then ran. Mical and Ryan stared at her.

"Beth, why aren't you dead?" Mical asked.

"A very valid question." She looked at the break in the front of her armor just in time to see the wound sealing over. "Whoa."

"You healed really fast," Ryan said.

Beth rolled her eyes. "Thanks buddy. I hadn't noticed."

"Every time I think I'm starting to understand this power of yours, it goes and spins in another direction," Mical commented. "Are you invincible or something like that? Did it even hurt?"

"Ya, but not as much as I thought it would." She looked worried, like this was a bad thing. "Can we just get out here? I want out of here. I'm sick of spending sleepless nights in dangerous places."

The three set off again, following their trail back to the camp. As they neared the gate Beth began changing back rapidly. Mical and Ryan watched, transfixed, as she shortened back to her normal height in only a few seconds.

The guard at the gate was surprised to see them. "When did you leave?" he asked.

"Not long ago. Went out for some fresh air," Beth answered.

"I didn't see you leave."

"We went out a different way."

He shook his head. "Well, get in. It's not safe to be out at this time. There are more beasts out at night then during the day."

The three hurried back to their rooms. Justin was up, and glared at them when they walked in, like a parent that had caught his kids out past their bedtime. "And where were you three?" he asked sternly.

"We went out for a walk and got lost," Beth said. "Sorry."

He sighed. "Just go to bed," he ordered. They did as he said immediately.

_The next day..._

"All right, who's coming?" Mandalore asked as the crew of the Ebon Hawk stood before the shuttle they were taking to Onderon.

It was, of course, Justin, Mira, Beth, Mical, Brennen, Brianna, Johnny, Ryan and Billie who said yes. Mandalore seemed surprised at the amount of people, but didn't object.

"Stand aside, I'm driving," Beth said when they got inside.

"You are not," Justin said. "Mandalore can do it."

"Well actually..." Mandalore started.

"Oh you gotta be shitting me!"

"Well, usually I get someone else to pilot the ship for me," Mandalore said.

"Fine Beth! You can fly!"

"I don't know..." She smirked. "Maybe Ryan should do it."

"NO!" everyone shouted. Beth laughed and sat in the pilot's chair.

"Let's get this party started!"

"I'm gonna regret this, I know it." Justin shook his head. "I'm gonna go back there and write my will."

"Not gonna be of much use when we crash and burn."

"Beth, shut up." Justin walked to the back of the shuttle.

_On Onderon..._

"See? That wasn't so bad."

"Beth, we nearly died three times."

"No! It was only twice!"

The group walked off the landing pad. Mandalore led them to another part of town, saying he had a friend that could contact the Jedi they were looking for.

His friend's name was Dagon Ghent, and he was doctor. A bad doctor, but a doctor nonetheless. He lived in the scummy part of town, with the works: gangs, bounty hunters...

A cantina.

Justin grinned. "I'll see you guys later," he said, staring to walk off to the cantina. Mira grabbed him by the back of his robes.

"Oh no you don't," she ordered. "We have business to attend to."

"Aw!" Justin slumped. "No fair."

"There's Dagon's office," Mandalore sad, pointing. However, as usual, things would not be so easy for them.

"Damn it! The door's locked!" Beth growled as she pulled at the doorknob.

"I guess he's not home," Mandalore said, looking through the window.

A scruffy looking man approached them. "You lookin' for Ghent? He got arrested this morning."

"Huh," Beth said, letting go of the knob.

"Ya, got arrested for murder," the man said. He walked off.

"Would your friend actually kill someone Mandalore?" Brianna asked.

"Hell, I would," Beth said.

"Dagon is a terrible doctor, and an idiot, but he wouldn't kill someone. He must have been framed."

"Looks like we have a mystery on our hands gang," Beth said. Everyone stared at her. "What? Why is everyone looking at me like that?"

Justin shook his head. "Beth, this isn't an episode of Scooby-Doo ok?"

"I never said it was!"

"Look, us exiles know he's innocent," Justin said to Mandalore. "Don't ask how, we just do. See that broken droid over there?" He pointed at a pile of garbage. "It's head holds proof that it wasn't Ghent."

They grabbed the head and watched it's last feed. It showed the droid getting shot from some direction.

"How does that prove anything?" Mandalore asked.

"I'll show you. Follow me." Justin led them away to the cleaner part of town, where they went straight to the police building.

"We have proof that Dagon Ghent is innocent!" Justin stated loudly when they got inside. He slammed the head down on the desk, and it sparked.

"Jaise, you're breaking it!" Beth picked it up. "You keep doing that and you're gonna damage the memory core, and then what do we do?"

The officer they were supposed to be showing it to got up and took the droid head from her. He watched the video feed.

"Yep. This proves his innocence." He put the droid head on the desk. "Hey!" he yelled down the hallway. Justin assumed their was another cop down there. "Let Dagon Ghent out!"

A cop led a man with a shaved head out. The exiles recognized Dagon Ghent.

The group walked out of the building with Ghent behind them. "See, I told you it would work," Justin said to Mandalore.

"No you didn't."

"Really? I'm almost positive I did."

"So what do you guys want?" Dagon asked.

"We want you to contact the palace for us. We need to speak to Kavar."

"All right, come on, let's get back to my house."

_Moving the plot past boring pointless crap..._

"All right, Kavar says he'll meet you in the cantina. You can go there now."

"Thanks Ghent," Justin said.

"Ya ya, just get out."

They headed for the cantina immediately. It must have looked odd: ten people strolling into the cantina all at once, a few wearing robes, one roaring for a drink, another telling that one that he wasn't allowed drinking or else she'd kill him...Yep, an odd group. The exiles searched the crowd for Kavar and picked him out easily.

The exiles walked towards him. He stood to greet them, but suddenly about a dozen men burst into the cantina, holding guns.

"Stay where you are Jedi!" one of them yelled. "You are under arrest!"

Kavar swung a hand, and the soldiers toppled. He started for the door, but paused for a moment. "I'll contact you later. For now, run!" He hurried out.

They started to follow, but the soldiers were up again. "Kill them!" the same one cried. "Shoot them down!"

The soldiers opened fire. Cantina patrons jumped under their tables, trying to avoid the blaster fire. The exiles attacked, ignoring any bullet wounds and slashing the soldiers down. The soldiers were no match for four experienced Jedi.

Justin turned to the rest of the group. "Come on! We gotta get out of here!" They raced out. But as soon as they ran through the door they heard more blaster shots. Justin shouted and clutched his arm as one struck home.

Brennen and Johnny stepped forward. Brennen threw out his hands, throwing the large group of soldiers down. Johnny used Force lightning, killing all of them.

They started for their ship, but then a rodian stepped out. Behind him were three trandoshans, a twi'lek, an aqualish and two gammorreans. Obviously bounty hunters.

The rodian held up a gun. Mandalore suddenly pushed the Jedi aside and shot the rodian once, killing the alien on the spot. The rest of the bounty hunters, enraged, started shooting at them, but were killed by the exiles in seconds.

They continued on, occasionally stopping to kill the odd soldier that attacked them. One time one of the citizens attacked Beth from behind, throwing his arms around her throat, but Mical and Ryan killed him quickly. Finally, the shuttle was in sight. But there was one last problem.

"Guys, were those turrets there before?" Brennen asked nervously. They stopped walking, looking at the turrets lining both sides of the street. At the end of it was their ship, but suddenly they were a bit worried about moving in case it triggered a sudden onslaught of fire.

"Jaise?" Johnny asked. The turrets spun suddenly to target them.

"Aw piss!" Justin said. "Go!" They ran. The turrets open fired on them. These blasts were much stronger then blaster fire. Beth made the mistake of trying to deflect one with her left saber and it shook her blade violently. The lightsaber sparked, and electricity flew up her arm, numbing it. She cried out, fingers opening spasmodically and dropping the weapon. Mical grabbed the back of her armor and pulled her forward in time to avoid more turret blasts.

They ran onto the shuttle. "Beth, get us out of here!" Justin yelled. She stumbled forward and punched in the ignition codes.

"We're out of here!" Beth called as the ship lurched upwards. "Why is it that I must grow to hate every planet we go to?"

_On Dxun..._

It was still raining. By the time Mandalore had led them back to their ship they were soaked. He had decided to come with them, apparently to search for other mandalorians. However, they didn't end up going very far just yet. As soon as they walked onto the ship, T3 rolled forward, beeping.

"Brezu?" Justin asked.

"He says he got a message from the mandalorian camp. Apparently it's urgent, and we gotta go back there."

Johnny groaned. "We were just there!"

"Ya!" Beth agreed. "I'm exhausted, and my arm still hurts from that shot! And I lost my lightsaber, I was going to make another one!"

"Beth, Lorenti, quit whining," Justin ordered. "Let's just get back to the camp. But we're not bringing a ton of people. Mandalore, you don't have to come. Ryan, Random Billie, neither are you." Charlie, who had come waddling out of the medbay, growled to get his attention. "No, you and Roger aren't coming either."

"So just the seven of us then?" Brennen asked.

"No, eight." Kreia walked forward. "I'm coming too. And you can't stop me."

"Hey Lorenti, I got you a date!" Brennen laughed. He pushed Johnny towards the old Jedi. Johnny gave him a nasty look.

"Aw, why does McBitch have to come?" Beth complained. "She'll just bring us all down."

"Be silent!" Kreia hissed at her. Beth glared at her. Kriea merely turned her gaze on her however, and she looked away.

"Guys, shut up," Justin interjected. "Just let her come. Now let's MOVE OUT!!" He led them back off the ship.

_Back at the camp..._

"Ok, so Kavar and the queen are under attack on Onderon," Justin said.

"Yep," the mandalorian, Kelborn, said.

"And you..." Justin turned to Kreia. "You say there's a bunch of Sith in the jungle that must be taken care of."

"Yes," she answered.

"And now we, as the protagonists of this story, must take care of both problems."

"Yes," Kreia and Kelborn answered.

"And how are we going to do that?"

"You must split into two groups, and take care of both problems separately."

"Ok..." Justin thought for a moment, then called out "EXILE HUDDLE!!" The four exiles stepped to one side and stood in a small circle. "Ok, so who goes where?" he asked in a low tone.

"I'm not going to Onderon. I hate that place," Beth answered.

"Ok, Beth you can take care of the Sith in the jungle."

"Whoa whoa!" Brennen said. "You're just gonna send her out there alone?"

"Not alone. She'll be with Mical."

"Look, me and Brianna will go with her. She and Mical always get in trouble when they're alone."

"All right, then me, Mira, Lorenti and Kreia will go to Onderon. That was easy to settle." The exiles turned back to the others. "We have decided who will go where."

"And what are your choices?" Kreia asked.

"Me and Lorenti are going back to Onderon. Beth and Brezu are going to take out the Sith."

"All right," Kelborn said. "Then everyone's who's going to Onderon, go to the shuttle. Everyone who is going into the jungle, follow me. We got a rough road ahead of us."

_You don't know the half of it. _Justin thought.

End Of Chapter 11


	12. Chapter 12

Knights Of The Old Republic Chapter 12– Who Would've Thought A Civil War Would Be So Complicated?

"Just go through this cave, then follow the path outside. You'll find an old Sith tomb, and that's where the invading Sith are hiding out."

Beth, Brennen, Mical and Brianna stood at the entrance to a cave. Kelborn was next to them, giving them directions.

"Anyway, I'll catch up to you later. I have some business to attend in the camp before rushing into death." He ran off.

Beth and Brennen both started to lead the group. Inevitably a fight broke out between the two, and Brianna and Mical had to pull them apart. In the end, no one ended up leading. They simply walked forward into the cave, with Beth and Brennen occasionally shooting nasty looks at each other.

It wasn't long before they came upon their first problem. As they neared the end of the cave, Beth threw out an arm to stop them.

"What is it?" Brennen asked.

"Mines." She nodded at the path ahead. "And just over there, see that?" The other three looked. It was some sort of metal rod with a small satellite dish on top. It seemed to be attached to the wall.

"Do you know what that is?" Brianna asked.

"Ya. Some sort of sensor. If we get too close to it, it'll set off an alarm, and before you know it we'll have about fifty Sith guys on our ass. And if we set off one these mines, it'll be the same way."

"So what do we do?"

"Watch and learn." She took something out of her pocket and pressed a button on it. She faded away.

"Whoa shit, Beth you're not actually a hologram are you?" Brennen exclaimed.

"Nah." This response came from the empty air in front of them. "I 'borrowed' one of the stealth field generators from the mandalorian camp." She laughed quietly and started towards the radar. She slipped past the mines carefully, and reached the radar safely. She turned it off easily, the off switch was on the side. She turned off her stealth field generator.

"Well that wasn't so hard." She turned back to the others. "Guys, it's safe to–!"

"Hey! What are you doing here!"

She spun. Three sith stood at the end of the tunnel. They ran off, probably to alert the others.

"Shit! This is just what I needed to perfect my day!" She used Force run, speeding through the mines. By the time they exploded she was past. She zipped out of the tunnel, caught up to the sith soldiers, and cut them down easily with her lightsaber. But one was holding a walkie-talkie, and Beth knew they weren't going to be alone for long.

The other three ran out of the cave. She rejoined them just as cries began arising behind them. They looked towards the source of the noise, and saw what looked like a temple. And rushing down it's long stairs toward them were about fifty soldiers. Beth was sure she saw a few lightsabers in there too.

"Well this should be interesting," Brennen said. He glanced at Beth. "We fight right?"

"Oh, we fight. We fight and we KICK ASS!!" She held up her saber, grinning that insane grin she had before every battle when they were extremely outnumbered.

Brennen ignited his lightsaber. Mical followed suit. Brianna looked at them wildly.

"I don't have a lightsaber!" she exclaimed.

"Then just stick to the soldiers," Beth said. "We'll handle the dark Jedi. Hey Mical, remember me telling you about that time I rushed into battle against twenty men with only Brezu and one other man with me?"

"Ya." He looked at her. She closed her eyes, concentrating, and changed into the greenish dragon thing.

"Well, you and me are gonna do that. Now." She leaped high up in the air, holding her lightsaber up in preparation to attack the army. Mical jumped after her.

Brennen waited a few seconds for the two to land, then started forward. But Brianna grabbed his sleeve.

"Brianna, not now. I gotta go help them before they get themselves killed!"

"I know. Just..." She hugged him close.

"Calm down girl, we're not gonna die or anything." He kissed her quick then raced into battle. She hesitated, but then went after him at a somewhat slower pace.

Beth and Mical stood back to back, swinging their lightsabers haphazardly. They nearly killed themselves and each other very often. Brennen bowled through a wall of men to reach them.

"You guys are crazy!" he shouted over the cries of dying men. He was fighting two Sith at once, but still managed to make conversation.

"Crazy is what got me where I am now!" Beth called back, stabbing another Sith through the face and using the Force to pull his lightsaber to her left hand. "At least I got two weapons now!"

Mical copied her, taking one of the dead Sith's lightsabers. Luckily there weren't many dark Jedi, but it was still hard to block a lightsaber hit, deflect blaster shots and defend against sword users at the same time.

"Hey, where's Brianna in all this?" Mical asked, slashing wildly at two sword weilders.

"No idea," Brennen answered. He flipped his lightsaber like a fan in front of him, slicing off the hands of three. "Maybe she's on the outskirts of this battle."

It wasn't long before the three began to tire though. They were strong, and enduring, but there were too many enemies. Beth screamed, knocking the men away, then spread her wings and took off, her flight propelled by the Force. Mical kicked a man back, then leapt after her. Brennen barely hesitated before going after them.

They landed a few yards away from the battle. The soldiers paused a moment to regroup. Panting, Beth glanced around.

"Brezu, where is Brianna?" she asked breathlessly.

He looked around worriedly. "I don't know. I thought she'd be here–"

"Brezu!"

All three snapped to attention at the cry. Two men held Brianna, dragging her away toward the temple.

"Brianna!" Brennen tried to run after her, but the army attacked right then. He jumped over them, starting after Brianna, but then realized that he'd be leaving Beth and Mical to fight alone. He was unsure what to do. In the end, he decided that the soldiers probably wouldn't kill Brianna right away. But this army would kill his friends if they weren't stopped.

Beth and Mical were backing away from the army to stop themselves from being surrounded. Suddenly Brennen came crashing through the army, spinning his lightsaber wildly. Startled, for a moment the soldiers paused, unsure. The three Jedi took the advantage, and attacked, swinging and slashing like they'd gone mad. The men quickly came back to their senses however, and surrounded them.

This was unneeded. The three were exhausted from their previous trip to Onderon, and from the tough fighting. Beth tried to jump out again, but one of the soldiers grabbed her wing and slammed her on the ground. She slashed at him angrily, trying to stand again. Brennen threw out a hand and pushed back a few men, but he was too tired to use the Force very well. The soldiers weren't even pushed over. Mical fought to drive the soldiers back, then helped Beth to get up.

"Are there any animals around?" he asked.

"Ya. I can feel them nearby." She had dropped the extra lightsaber at some point in the battle.

"Can't you call them or something?"

"I suppose." She paused, closing her eyes. Her foe took the chance and stabbed her through the chest. She ignored it and continued what she was doing. The man frowned, confused that his attack had no effect. Mical slashed off his head angrily.

There was a long howl. Beth opened her eyes. "They're coming," she whispered.

A group of maalras stormed through the group, killing the men. Confused, they did not think to defend themselves. The three Jedi ran from the battle, heading for the temple.

They didn't go in right away though. The three leaned against the wall for a moment, trying to catch their breath.

"Beth, did they take her in there?" Brennen asked.

Beth sniffed at the air. "Ya. Ya they did." She sat down slowly.

"Are you all right? You sound all distant and stuff."

"When I'm like this I can hear all the animals within a certain radius constantly. It's sorta loud, and hard to block out."

"Why don't you change back then?" Mical asked.

She forced herself back up. "I'm stronger like this. Although I suppose I could change back now. Make it easier to concentrate." She exhaled slowly, changing back to a human.

"Feeling better?" Brennen asked.

"It's much quieter," she noted, grinning. "Now can we get going? I wanna get this over and done with."

"Calm done happy. We gotta save Brianna too."

"Ya ya. Listen Prince Charming, we'll find your Snow White all right?"

"Was Prince Charming in Snow White? I thought he was in Sleeping Beauty."

"Maybe he was. But I didn't want to give you some sleeping bitch."

"What are you two talking about?" Mical asked.

"Uh, nothing."

"Ya, nothing."

The three went through the temple doors. It was dark inside, illuminated by some sort of weird red light. All of them began to feel uneasy as they walked farther in. Brennen said it was probably dark side energy. Beth said they probably just had to take a shit. Mical said they should both shut up.

At the end of the hallway they were walking along was another door. This one was locked though, and resilient to lightsaber hits. For about a minute the three tried to break the door down, but when their arms and shoulders began to really hurt Mical suggested they try another way to get in. Beth found the control to the door and broke it. The door flew open.

They entered a huge room with two doors on either side of the room. In the center was a door that made giant look like small. And there were the two Sith holding Brianna.

"Brianna!" Brennen called. He ignited his lightsaber. "Let her go!"

The Sith laughed, and threw her down. Brennen ran to her and crouched down next to her. The Sith lifted their lightsabers, preparing to strike. Brennen didn't notice.

Beth and Mical lunged at them, landing in front of them just in time to block the hits. The sith pushed down, trying to push their sabers through the two Jedi's faces. Beth strained, but was only holding on with her metal arm.

"Mical, give me your extra saber!" she called. However, either he didn't understand or he hadn't heard what she was saying, for he merely looked at her for a moment before straining to throw back the Sith. Luckily Brennen intervened, and managed to kill both the Sith. Beth relaxed as the dark Jedi fell, then turned to Mical.

"Why didn't you give me your lightsaber!"

"Oh, is that what you wanted? I couldn't tell what you were saying." He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.

"Are you all right Brianna?" Brennen asked. "They didn't hurt you did they?"

"N-No," she said shakily. "Just–Just scared me."

Beth smirked and nudged Brennen in the side. "Maybe you should examine her a bit more closely," she whispered in his ear. He shoved her away and she laughed.

The four of them approached the huge ass door in front of them. The door refused to open, no matter what they threw at it. Beth searched for a control panel, but couldn't find one. In the end, Brianna brought up the two doors on both sides of the room. They split up and went in both directions. Brennen and Brianna went to the door on the left. Beth and Mical went through the right door.

Beth and Mical's door revealed a hallway, which they ran down. It was much shorter then the last hallway they'd been in, and this one ended in a door that actually opened. When they walked through, four war droids greeted them with plenty of blaster fire. However, the two killed them easily. There was a terminal in the middle of the room, which Mical headed for right away. Beth started to follow, but noticed something in the corner of the room.

She walked over, peering at it closely. It was some sort purplish mist, which just sort of drifted over one spot near the ground, sparking slightly. Mical, noticing her absence, looked around for her.

"Beth?" He walked closer to her. "What is it?" Then he noticed the mist.

She glanced at him. "Can you feel that?" she asked quietly, as though she didn't want someone to hear. Or something.

He felt it too. A multitude of emotions ran through him, anger, confusion, fear, sadness. He shook his head irritably, as though to dislodge whatever it was.

"Beth, maybe we shouldn't go near this thing," he advised. She didn't respond, but merely gazed at the mist. "Beth?" He grabbed her shoulder. She started, then looked at him as though she hadn't known he was there.

"What?"

"You...You were just standing there. You weren't saying anything." He frowned as she turned back to the mist. "Come on." He tugged on her sleeve.

"Piss off!" She ripped her arm out of his grasp. He was confused. Why was she so angry? She glared at him, her eyes glowing with a strange light. She reached slowly for her lightsaber.

He backed off, holding up his hands. "Whoa Beth. Calm down. I wasn't trying—" She ignited the lightsaber. "What are you doing!" She stabbed at him. He tried to dodge back, tripping over a stone and falling. He jumped up, and moved back, reaching for his lightsaber in case she tried to attack him again.

It seemed to be on her mind. "What's wrong Mical?" she snarled mockingly. "You're not scared of me are you?" She raised her lightsaber as she stepped towards him.

"Beth, why are you acting like this?" He saw the strange mist behind her. It occurred to him that the mist might have something to do with this. He remembered Brezu mentioning dark side energy when they'd entered the temple. Maybe that's what the weird mist was. Pure dark side energy. It was making Beth act like a Sith, cruel and menacing.

She jerked forward as though to attack. He whipped out his lightsaber and ignited it, but she wasn't attacking just yet. She laughed at the sight of the weapon.

"So you do have some fight in you then?" Mical shivered, remembering Beth telling him about the hologram of himself. He'd been just like she was now.

She slashed at him suddenly. He managed to dodge, but was nearly decapitated. She laughed again.

"Damn it Beth! Stop it!" He stepped back, but held his lightsaber in front of himself defensively. "I don't want to hurt you!"

She snorted. "Then don't. Put down your lightsaber and let me kill you." She laughed again. _Well, at least she's in a good humor. _Mical thought.

She attacked again, and this time they traded blows a few times before Beth screamed suddenly and threw him back. He crashed into the wall, but did not fall. He was pinned halfway up. Beth had her hand out, using the Force to keep him on the wall.

"I learned that one from Korriban," she hissed. "In a way, I learned it from you."

"Beth, let me go." He was getting very uneasy. She was walking towards him slowly, holding her lightsaber ready. Was she really going to kill him? "Beth, come on. Chill out. This isn't you. This is just...some darker side of you. Let me down."

"Why should I?" she growled angrily. "You were always such a pain to have around. All your complaining, all your whining... Maybe it would be better for me to get rid of you now." She raised the lightsaber slowly, nearly upon him.

He stiffened, closing his eyes, bracing himself for the attack. But it didn't come. He waited, then opened his eyes again. She was just standing there, staring blankly in front of her. She lowered her hand slowly, and he fell from the wall.

"Beth?" he said quietly. She turned to him, looking confused.

"What the Hell just happened?" she asked. She stared at her lightsaber. "Holy shit. I was gonna...Holy shit."

"Beth, you really need to clean up your language."

However, Beth wasn't in the mood for comedy. "Goddamn...I was really gonna do it too...I have no idea why it stopped."

"What? What stopped?"

"I don't know. Can't explain it. I was just suddenly really pissed off, and then...I have no idea."

"And the things you said? Were they true?"

"What?" She frowned, trying to remember. "Uh...Oh, I remember now. Nah, they weren't true. Just a lot of bullshit." She shook her head. "Why are we here again?" She looked around the room.

Mical turned to the terminal and walked over to it. He pressed a few buttons and the screen read that the door was unlocked.

"We can go now. Come on." He and Beth walked out the door. Mical glanced back at the mist for a moment and shivered. He'd been this close to death. He didn't want to repeat the experience.

Brennen and Brianna walked along the left passage. It led to a door, which luckily wasn't locked and they went through. There was no enemies inside, so they walked inside without worry. Brianna found a computer terminal in the center of the room, but something caught Brennen's eye in the corner of the room. He wandered over to get a closer look. It was some sort of purplish mist. He felt as though a bunch of emotions were flooding into his brain all at once.

Brianna approached the terminal, then noticed that Brezu was not with her. She saw him standing to the side, looking at something. "Brezu?" He didn't respond. She walked closer, but then he suddenly turned around, grinning.

His eyes glowed with a strange light. He reached for his lightsaber. "Come here Brianna," he said coldly. "I have something for you." He laughed and walked towards her.

Suddenly terrified, Brianna backed away. "Brezu? What are you doing?"

"Nothing at all Brianna. Just killing you." He ignited his lightsaber. She reached for her sword. He smirked. "What are gonna do Brianna? Your little sword is nothing compared to my saber!" He lunged at her. She flung herself out of the way. He laughed cruelly.

She tried to run out of the room, but Brennen waved his hand and the door slammed shut. She spun around to face him again, holding the sword tightly with both hands. He laughed again.

"All right, you think that thing will hurt me? Then try it!" He spread his arms apart. "Come on! Try it!"

She shook. What was wrong with him? Why was he acting like this? She didn't want to hurt him. She was just trying to defend herself, although a sword versus a lightsaber was like pitting a guinea pig against an anaconda.

"No? You're not gonna do it?" He held his saber in front of himself again. "Then let me start!"

He lunged at her, swinging his weapon wildly. She cried out and tried to dodge back. He slashed the top half of her sword off, then slammed into her and pinned her against the wall with his shoulder. She struggled to free herself, but it was no use.

He raised the lightsaber slowly. "Say goodbye," he whispered, smiling wickedly. She closed her eyes, unable to believe that Brezu was really gonna kill her. She braced for the attack but it never came. She opened her eyes again. He was staring blankly at the wall. He backed up slowly, releasing her. He gazed at his lightsaber, then switched it off.

"Brezu?" Brianna said timidly. He stared at her.

"Oh Jesus...Brianna, I'm sorry, I have no idea why I did that..." He put the lightsaber back in his belt and hugged her.

"It's ok Brezu. You're all right now, right?" She was still a bit shaken.

"Ya..." He let her go. "It was something to do with that mist, it made me crazy. I don't how to explain it really..." He turned back to the computer terminal. "Come on, let's just finish the job and get out of here."

They pressed a few buttons, and the screen of the terminal read that the door was open. They walked back out of the room.

Beth, Mical, Brennen and Brianna arrived in the main room at about the same time. And inside were four Sith, each with two bomas. Catching sight of the Jedi, they ignited their red lightsabers. Beth and Mical groaned at the sight. Brennen stepped in front of Brianna protectively, as she had lost her only way to protect herself, besides what little of the Force she could muster.

Beth and Mical lifted their lightsabers as the two Sith charged them. Beth turned to the bomas and shouted "Leave this place!" The beasts skidded to a stop and ran away from the battle. The Sith ignored this fact and attacked anyway.

Beth ducked under the blade of one and kicked out her foot, tripping the man. She slashed at him while he was down, but he blocked the shot and stabbed at her. She stepped back quickly, and he leapt up again. She heard Mical shout and turned her head to look. The Sith swung at her while she was distracted. She tried to dodge the blow, but he slashed a shallow cut on her left arm. She stepped back a few more feet, too tired to think straight. The Sith noticed her fatigue and began using power blows, smashing down on her lightsaber. After a few blows her arm felt numb and she dropped the weapon. He smirked, and prepared to stab her. She could think of only one thing to do.

The man stabbed her in the gut, triumphant. Clawed hands gripped at his throat, and he shot a look up to see that the person he was attacking was no longer human. A dragon-like face glared down at him, baring sharp teeth. She lifted him up, holding his throat tightly. Her fingers tightened. He coughed, struggling to breathe as his airway closed.

"How–?" he strained, then suddenly he couldn't breathe. He struggled, trying to loosen her hold with both hands. But his frenzied attempts lessened, and finally he slumped, lifeless. She dropped the corpse on the ground roughly.

Mical faced the other Sith. He was still sore from his fight with Beth, so his movements were slower and more sluggish then usual. He and the Sith traded blows a few times and then the dark Jedi stabbed through his right shoulder. He shouted, jumping back. He held his shoulder tightly, trying to heal it.

The Sith didn't give him a chance to recuperate though, and attacked again. Mical switched his lightsaber to his left hand and fought with him awkwardly for a bit, then suddenly shouted, using Force scream. The Sith flew back, surprised. Mical did not rush the man though, but took the chance to heal himself, then switched his saber back to his right hand. The Sith stood, and Mical leaped over to face him.

The Sith stabbed at him, but Mical dodged the attack and slashed down on the man's arm, cutting it off. Then he swung the weapon one last time, slicing off the Sith's head.

Brennen had to face two Sith. Luckily, the four bomas with them had run off, but he could see this being a tough battle.

"Keep back," he said to Brianna, then ignited both ends of his lightsaber. He thought back to when he'd fought the holograms of Beth and Justin. That had been a hard battle, but if he'd beaten them, then he could probably win this battle.

The Sith attacked at the same time. Startled, he lifted his lightsaber and parried both blades then flung out a hand, pushing one back. Brennen focused on the other one, swinging the lightsaber quickly, trying to finish off this Sith before the other recovered. However, the dark Jedi was more skilled then he looked, and he managed to hold him at bay until his comrade came back into the battle.

Brennen kicked the other one back again, then decided to try and use power blows instead. The Sith just stepped back though, and didn't bother to parry the attacks. Brennen used Force push and shoved him back, then turned to the Sith he hadn't fought much this fight.

This one was less skilled, and much weaker then the other one. Brennen got past his guard quickly and stabbed him through the throat. By this time the other Sith was back in the action, but too late to save his companion. He didn't seem to care though, and attacked again.

The man was on the offensive, and Brennen was forced to defend for a few seconds before the man stumbled over his robes and for a split second let his guard down. Brennen swung the lightsaber once and cut off his head.

The four rejoined each other. Brennen looked in surprise at the lightsaber hilt sticking out the front of Beth's armor.

"Uh, what's that?" he asked, pointing.

She glanced at the lightsaber. "Oh, this? It's the latest trend. This is what all the cool kids in school are doing." She pulled the blade out. Brianna winced.

"Are you ok?" she asked.

"Oh ya," Beth answered. "I heal really fast when I'm like this." She put the lightsaber in her belt with her other one as she changed back to a human.

"You're keeping it?" Brennen asked.

"I fight better with two lightsabers then with one. Hey Brianna, where's your sword?" she asked suddenly.

"Oh, it, uh, broke." She looked awkward, and Beth dropped the subject immediately.

The four approached the huge ass door again. This time, the door opened as they approached. It revealed a room that you could have lost a house in. There was a pool of water or something in the center of the floor, and it took up about three quarters of the room.

And standing in front of the pool were three Sith, one with a double-bladed lightsaber, another with two lightsabers, and a third with only one lightsaber.

"You are too late," the one with the double-bladed lightsaber said. "The ceremony is already complete."

"What ceremony?" Beth asked.

"That's the least of your worries right now. I don't know how you managed to get past all our men, and I don't care." He eyed them, then nodded. "Ah, yes, you are all Force weilders. Well, it is good you came here then. Here, you can start your path down the dark side, the strong side."

"Oh shut up," Brennen said wearily. "We've heard all this already."

"Typical Jedi talk. You two–" He nodded at Brennen and Beth "–have already accepted your fate as light-side puppets. But it is not too late for them. They still have the chance to become powerful Force users." This last statement was directed at Mical and Brianna.

"The dark side is evil though," Brianna said, looking at Brennen for confirmation.

"That is what the Jedi told you, isn't it? But they are wrong. The Jedi stop you from living life as normal people would. If you are a Jedi, you are not allowed to love anyone, start a family, enjoy yourself. You must become emotionless, weak." He shook his head. "But the Sith do not stop such things. You can do what you want, and no one stops you. No one criticizes you."

"But the Sith kill each other," Mical said. He looked at Beth. "Right?"

"Yes, but it so the strong may rule and, in turn, keep the rest of us strong." He closed his eyes. "Can you not feel the power of this place? Don't you want it to be yours?"

Mical and Brianna could feel the power of the dark side, but both had experienced it in their own way. When that strange mist, the dark side energy, had taken over their friends. How could they want power like that? But they couldn't help but think about what the man had said. The Jedi didn't allow you to live life like everyone else...

Brianna looked at Brennen worriedly, feeling confused. Jedi weren't allowed to start families. It was considered dangerous. How did she stay with him and not violate the Jedi code at the same time? Had she become a Sith by merely starting a relationship?

Mical felt uncomfortable. The Sith was watching him, waiting for him to say something. He glanced at Beth, but she didn't meet his eyes. In a way, the Sith was right. He wasn't supposed to be with Beth, not if he wanted to follow the Jedi code. Was he no better than a Sith because of that? _But they kill people! _He thought. _They kill each other! She nearly killed _me! He had no idea what to think anymore.

"Beth?" he asked quietly.

She finally looked at him. "Do as you want Mical. It's your life. Your choice."

Brianna turned to Brennen. "Brezu?"

He sighed. "Brianna, the Sith are evil, no matter what way you look at it. Even he admitted to killing his own kind."

"But...But a Jedi can't start relationships..."

"No. But were you ever given true Jedi training? Only me and Jaise have taught you about the Force, and both of us have been exiled. In a way, you are neither Jedi nor Sith."

He looked over at Beth and Mical. Mical was staring at the ground. Beth noticed him looking and met his eyes.

They nodded, and took out their lightsabers. The sound of igniting lightsabers made Mical snap out of his trance and he took his out too. The Sith were startled, and the double-bladed one shook his head grimly.

"So you have chosen the weak side. Fine. We will show you the true power of the dark side." The three attacked.

Brennen took the one with the double-bladed lightsaber. Both attacked recklessly and quickly, flipping their lightsabers around so quickly the blades were a mere blur. Brennen wasn't sure how he was suddenly able to fight like this when he'd been so exhausted before. He wondered if it had to do with all the dark side energy around here.

He threw out a hand, pushing the Sith back. He rushed him, hoping to kill him before he got back up. But the Sith was up in a flash and used Force lightning. Brennen skidded to a stop, but couldn't dodge the lightning. He yelled, unprepared for the blinding pain. Luckily however, for some reason the lightning was cut off, and Brennen fell to one knee for a moment before sucking in a breath and flinging himself forward at the Sith. He stabbed the Sith through his face, and the man was dead instantly.

Beth took the Sith that had two lightsabers. They circled each other for a few seconds, both smirking. They stopped, and Beth feinted to the left, then attacked from the right. They parried and countered attacks for a few seconds, getting nowhere. But Beth was laughing, finding the whole experience to be a blast. She felt as though she'd had a good night's sleep, or at least hadn't been fighting for a few days. She wondered briefly where the energy had come from, but then she heard Mical shout.

"Mical?" She turned to look for him and smashed someone in the face accidently with her hand. She recognized the man Brennen was supposed to be fighting, but was forced to concentrate on her foe again. He threw out his hand to use the Force, but she slashed out instinctively and cut it off. He stared at the stump of his wrist in horror. She barely hesitated in finishing him off, and slashed through his neck.

Mical took on the third one, who had only one lightsaber. He didn't bother with any preliminaries and attacked right away. He wanted to finish the battle quickly, and smashed at the Sith dangerously, but also carelessly. He put all his strength into an attack, bringing his lightsaber down extremely fast. But the Sith didn't block the attack, he merely dodged back. Mical smashed the ground the ground with his lightsaber. The Sith slashed at his face. He tried to throw himself back, and was just a millimeter from getting away safely. The tip of the lightsaber slashed across his right eye.

He shouted, more surprised then hurt. He fell back, holding a hand over his eye. His lightsaber lay forgotten on the ground.

The Sith stepped toward him slowly, holding out his lightsaber, ready to finish the job. Mical shouted again, and the man was flung back. Mical leaped up, grabbed his lightsaber off the ground and rammed it through the Sith's heart mercilessly.

The three were silent and still for a moment. Then Beth looked over at Mical and caught sight of his eye, which he'd taken his hand away from for a moment.

"Oh shit Mical!" She walked over for a closer look. "What the Hell happened?"

"Lightsaber wound," he answered through gritted teeth. His eye was starting to hurt with a burning pain. He couldn't see out of it. He was half-blind.

Beth felt sick when she looked at the eye, because it was blackened and burnt. She gulped and turned away.

"Am I that ugly now?" he joked. "Well, I guess I'll have to deal with it."

"Can't you heal it?" Brianna asked, shuddering at the sight of his eye.

"I tried. Doesn't work evidently." He felt a stab of pain and put a hand over his face again. "Have we eliminated the Sith threat yet?"

"Ya. That's the last of them," Brennen answered. They turned to leave the room. Kelborn stood there, astonished.

"Damn. You guys are rough fighters," he praised. "You ready to go yet?"

"I suppose so," Beth answered. "How'd the others do?"

"Well, after you left, they..."

_Meanwhile..._

Justin, Mira, Johnny and Kreia landed on Onderon. The place was in ruins, torn apart by civil war. As soon as the four stepped off their ship a group of soldiers attacked them. The four of them killed them easily though. Justin turned to Kreia.

"So where now?" he asked.

"We must reach the palace," she answered. "We must save the queen."

"God save the queen!" Johnny said. Kreia looked at him, bewildered, then shook her head.

"Come on guys, MOVE OUT!!" Justin led them away.

He took them up a long passage which held a few soldiers, but nothing too difficult. It took them only a few minutes to get to the end of the passage, and they could see the entrance to the palace.

But there were also two Sith waiting for them.

Justin and Johnny stepped forward. "We'll take care of this," Justin said.

Justin faced the Sith on the left. They parried and countered each other's lightsabers for a few moments, and then Justin made a power blow. The Sith dodged back, and jabbed at him. He spun to one side, then flung out his hand, making a vice with his fingers. The Sith clutched at his throat, struggling to breathe. The Sith slashed at him angrily, trying to fight while his strength lessened. He fell to his knees, trying desperately to get air. Finally, he collapsed, dead.

Johnny took the Sith on the right. He doubled the length in his lightsaber immediately and swung. The Sith was surprised by the lightsaber, but still managed to avoid the blade. He tried to stay outside the range of the weapon, but Johnny followed him as he stepped back. Finally, tired of the chase, Johnny merely put out his hand and used Force lightning. The man screamed, frozen in place. Johnny took the opportunity and stabbed him through the chest with his lightsaber.

Justin led them at a run inside the palace, trying to make up for lost time. They ran down a long hallway and came to an intersection, with hallways leading to either side and an open door in front of them. Justin ran for the door immediately, but it slammed shut. The four skidded to a stop.

"Shit!" Justin swore. He saw a terminal on the side of the door. He looked at it and tried to figure out some way to open the door. However, he wasn't very good with computers. Suddenly a person showed up on the screen.

"Don't bother trying to get through the door. It's made from the same materials that in the hulls of star cruisers. You'll never get through."

"Any door can be opened shitbag," Justin shot back. "This isn't over."

The man laughed. "Oh, believe what you want. Anyway, I have business to attend to." With that, he turned and began walking to the other side of the room. The picture fizzled out and the screen went blank.

"Fuck!" Justin turned to the others. "What now?"

"Well, he said the door is impenetrable right?" Johnny said.

"Well, unless you happen to have some serious firepower in those robes of yours."

"What about the walls?" Johnny gestured at the walls around them. Justin considered them.

"Ya! They're just made from stone!" Justin and Johnny set to cutting out huge chunks of the wall. It wasn't long before they had tunneled through and had gotten into the room beyond the door. The man at first didn't notice they were there, but he did as soon as Justin had rammed his saber through his gut. But he was the least of their problems.

"What the Hell is that?" Mira exclaimed. It was some sort of bulky greenish creature. It must have been twice as tall as any of them, three times the width, but all of it muscle. Each finger ended in a long sharp claw. It's huge jaws housed many pointed fangs, and it had a long tail covered in spikes. It roared at the sight of them.

"I think it's a Drexl," Johnny gulped. "Shit."

The Drexl charged, howling. They were frozen for a moment too long. The beast swung a huge fist and smashed Justin and Kreia to one side. Johnny grabbed Mira and Force jumped away to a safe distance.

Justin groaned as he forced himself up. He remembered Beth complaining about the amount of times a creature much bigger then herself had smashed her to one side, and always into a wall. Justin had to agree with her on one thing : it did hurt a lot.

He ran at the Drexl as it stomped toward Johnny and Mira. He jumped, aiming to land on it's back, but then noticed all the sharp spines all along it's backside.

"Shit this'll hurt!" Luckily however, he was suddenly shoved to one side from some unknown force. He slid along the ground, but got up quickly. He saw Kreia holding out a hand, and realized she must have pushed him out of the air. He nodded to her, but didn't bother thanking her in any other way.

Johnny ducked under the creature's claws, and slashed upwards, cutting off it's arm at the elbow. The Drexl roared, and then suddenly Justin was there, stabbing his saber deep in it's side. It bellowed in agony, and swung it's remaining paw at Justin. Justin jumped back, and threw his lightsaber. It spun through the air and slashed off it's other hand. Justin summoned it back with the Force, and as it came spinning back it slashed off the creature's tail. Johnny made the finishing move, slicing through the beast's neck.

Justin, Johnny and Mira hurried forward towards the queen's room, too distracted to notice that Kreia was not with them. She was walking slowly towards the corpse of the man who had locked them out.

The three ran into the queen's room. The queen's soldiers and the soldiers of the man who was trying to kill the queen were fighting. And at the front of the room was the queen herself, fighting a bearded man.

They hurried forward to help the queen. The man saw them coming.

"So, you have more Jedi with you then?" he said to the queen breathlessly. Justin grabbed the man by the back of his shirt and pulled him back.

"And who is this?" Justin asked.

By this time Kreia had made her way back into the room. "That is general Vaklu," she answered. "He has always wanted to become leader of Onderon."

"Ya, and he wants Onderon to separate from the republic doesn't he?" Johnny asked. "Become independent?"

"Ya," Justin said. "So what do we do with him?"

"The punishment for treason is death," the queen said, speaking finally. "He must be killed."

"What!?" Vaklu said. "But–But you can't, you–What about my trial?!"

"He's right," Justin said, still holding Vaklu by his shirt. "You can't just kill him off without a fair trial. Imagine how your people will look at you after that."

"But–But he has many supporters, he will rise again!" the queen insisted. Then she sighed. "But you are right. I thought I could do it, but I can't. He will have his trial."

"Hey, where's Kavar anyway?" Johnny asked.

"I'm here." They turned. Kavar strolled into the room casually. "Thank you for all your help exiles. I don't think we'd be alive right now if you hadn't stepped in." He looked over the four of them. "Where are the other two, Beth and Brezu?"

"They had business down on Dxun," Justin answered. "Anyway, there was something we had to tell you."

"I'm listening," Kavar said.

"The Sith have revealed themselves. We need you to go to Dantooine with the other surviving Jedi masters."

"All right, I'll go. Who is there anyway?"

"Vrook and Zez. Atris is on Telos, and Vash is dead."

Kavar sighed. "What a shame that Vash has died. But I must move on. I will go to Dantooine right away." He walked back out of the room.

The four left not long after that. None noticed that the body of the man who had locked them out was no longer there.

_Back on Dxun..._

Beth, Brennen, Mical and Brianna were already at the ship by the time Justin and the others got there. Beth and Brennen told him excitedly of the events in the Sith tomb, but Justin noticed Mical and Brianna were strangely quiet, and kept away from the group. Justin thought for a moment something was wrong with one of Mical's eyes, but he turned away once he noticed Justin looking. Justin decided to ask about it some other time.

The four exiles sat at the table in the main hold. They were heading back to Dantooine now. It would only be a day's travel, but all of them were nervous. They knew what was coming. Justin had a strange feeling that Kreia knew what was coming too, for she refused to answer any questions and retired to her room.

"I can't believe we actually lived through all that," Justin said.

"All what?" Brennen asked.

"Well, think about it. All the planets we've gone too, all the fights we've fought, all the troubles we've gone through...It's almost over you know that? We've nearly reached the end of our journey."

"Ya..." They looked at Johnny. "You guys ever consider what happens after we've finished everything? What happens then?"

"I don't know," Justin answered. "I guess we'll just have to wait and see."

_That night..._

"Are you all right Jaise? You're awfully quiet."

These were Mira's words after the two of them had been sitting in the cargo hold for a few minutes in absolute silence.

"Well, I guess I just don't have much to say."

"All four of you have been quiet though. Ever since you had that little conversation in the main hold."

"I've just been thinking about what's gonna happen when we go to Dantooine." This was actually the truth. He was extremely nervous about it.

"What do you think's gonna happen?"

"I'm not sure." Obviously a lie. "I'm hoping the masters decide to fight with us against the Sith, but what if they don't? What if it's just like with the Mandalorian wars, and they just sit back and wait for someone else to take care of the problem?"

"Then I guess we fight against the Sith alone."

He looked at her quickly. "We? You would fight against the Sith with me?"

"And the others I would assume."

However, Justin wasn't so sure about this. He had been considering what was going to happen once the journey was over, and he wasn't sure if they'd be sticking together. Just as Johnny had said before, as time went on the four of them had become more distant from each other. He was starting to think that when they were no longer bound together by duty, they were going to split up and look to their own futures. It was a bit saddening, but he had a feeling it was true.

"Ya, I guess we would be with the others," Justin lied.

"You don't sound very certain. Have there been problems between you four or something? You seemed to be good friends."

"I can't read the future Mira. We may continue to travel together, or we may not. I don't know."

"Why would you split up though?"

"I don't know. Even friends need to be apart sometimes." Like now. Another thing Johnny had pointed out was that they didn't hang out much anymore. It was true. He sighed. "Look, I'm exhausted. Can we just go to sleep?"

"Sure." She seemed a bit concerned, but didn't try to carry on the conversation. The two fell asleep in moments.

"How're you feeling Mical? Does your eye still hurt?"

"Not as badly as before, and that's something." He was looking in a small hand mirror at his face. "Damn that's gross."

"Could be worse. At least it's only one eye. What's up with you anyway? You're all morose and shit."

"Well, I was just thinking about...about the Sith." He put down the mirror down, and looked uncomfortable.

"What about them?"

"Just...Well..." He didn't seem sure how to get his story out. As usual Beth began to get impatient. She hated it when people couldn't explain themselves.

"What's up buddy? Come on, out with it!"

"Well, when the Sith said all those things, I just thought for a second that, you know, maybe he was right."

"Really?" Beth didn't sound very interested.

"Doesn't it bother you at all? I nearly went Sith! I considered it, thought that it might be worth it. You trained me to a Jedi, and I almost gave it all up just so that maybe my life might be a bit easier."

"Why exactly did you think of becoming a Sith?"

"Well, Jedi can't start relationships."

"That depends on whether or not you get caught." She smirked. "Besides, I'm not a Jedi. I'm just an exile. So what's that make you? Who gives a damn!"

He frowned. "So you don't care that I nearly went Sith?"

"Nah, not really. I mean, at least you didn't actually go to the dark side right?"

"No. I guess not."

"Then stop worrying! Goddamn."

"Sorry. Hey, and about the that whole purple mist thing..."

"I told you, I didn't mean it."

"Well, was that what it was like to be on the dark side?"

She thought for a moment. "I don't know actually. I've never been on the dark side. Really, it just made me want to kill everyone around me, and you happened to be there at the time."

"And you didn't actually mean the things you said right?"

"What things? Oh ya. No I told you before I didn't mean it." He still looked worried. She rolled her eyes. "Stop worrying! You think I'm gonna dump you for Ryan or something?" He looked at her sharply, and she stepped back. "Come down Mic, I was joking."

"Oh you better have been," he said, pretending to threaten her. "I'd snap that guys neck if he even tried it!"

"Wow. You look so adorable when you're threatening to kill people." She laughed.

"Brezu, are you all right?"

"Ya. I'm fine."

"Are you sure?"

He exhaled loudly. The two were in their room at the moment, and had been for the past hour. But neither had been speaking. Brennen was worried, to tell the truth. He really didn't want to go to Dantooine. He didn't see what was stopping him from making them turn the ship around and going somewhere else. Of course, they couldn't just run from what was going to happen. They just had to face it, and hopefully things would work out.

"If you're worried about something you can tell me," Brianna persisted.

"It's...It's nothing. Just tired."

"You always say that."

"Well I am all right? Give me a break, I nearly killed you today, you expect me to be all sunshine and rainbows?!"

She jumped. "Is that really what's on your mind?"

"Ya." Well, it was only one of the many things on his mind to tell the truth.

"Brezu, that wasn't your fault, you were just possessed or something. I know you wouldn't really try to kill me."

"I was only a step away. Whether it was me or not, I still remember it and if I'd just stayed like that a second longer I would've killed you!"

"Well you didn't, so–"

"That's not all. What if it happens again? What if the mist stuff planted some sort of evil seed in me or something, and I just spontaneously started trying to kill people again?"

"I don't know. I guess that's just something we'll have to deal with when it comes."

"But what if I kill you?"

She fell silent for a moment. "I don't know. I guess I'll be dead then."

"How can you be so calm about it?"

"Because I guess I don't believe the mist left anything inside you."

_But it did. _He thought to himself. _It left memories. It left the temptation to kill. How it feels to want to kill. It disgusts me now, but how to I know it won't grow inside of me until I can no longer stop myself?_

Johnny was irritated by the presence of Ryan and Billie, who because of the shortness of space had been forced to stay in his room. He didn't mind Billie so much, but Ryan reminded him of a mental patient. Half the things he said made little to no sense. Ok, that was a lie. Everything he said made little to no sense. Ok, so that was a lie too. Everything he said just made no sense.

And telling him to shut up didn't work, because it seemed he'd heard it so much that he was now impervious to it. And it was impossible to block him out. It was like trying to stop a brick with a piece of paper. Billie had somehow managed to fall asleep, and Johnny envied him greatly.

"Damn it Ryan! Shut up!" Johnny snapped again.

Ryan was silent for a moment, then said "Hey, how come you don't have a girlfriend?"

Johnny glared at him. "Why don't you?"

"Because I'm a freak, but what's your excuse?"

"I don't think I should start a relationship. I can be dangerous." This last statement was half meant to be a threat.

Ryan didn't notice. "Well, why don't you go for Visas or something?" He winked. "I bet she'd be good."

"You are sick and in need of help Ryan. What would you know about girls anyway?"

"Well, I got laid during the war."

"I'm honestly surprised. Were they whores?"

"That has nothing to do with it."

"Were they even human?"

"That has nothing to do with it either."

"Damn Ryan! Did you actually screw an alien?"

Thankfully this last statement made Ryan decide it was time for bed, and he went to sleep without another word. Johnny followed his example.

_The next day..._

Beth had terrible dreams that night. She dreamt of killing people, people she'd known and cared about. And while each begged for their lives, she laughed and cut them down.

She was suddenly on the Ebon Hawk, and she grabbed Brianna by the throat. Brianna looked at her helplessly. "Please Beth don't. You don't have to–" Beth stabbed the lightsaber through her face.

"Beth!" She dropped the corpse and turned. Brennen was there, staring at her. "Beth, why did you kill her? How could you be so cruel?"

"Shut up!" she snarled and slashed at him.

"Beth no!" Justin stood there now, with Mira. "Why are you doing this? Why are you killing everyone?"

Once again, she swung the lightsaber, and slashed through their throats. Then Johnny walked in.

"You can't turn back now Beth," he said. "You've become a heartless murderer, a Sith."

"Be quiet!" she roared and rammed the lightsaber through his gut.

"Beth?" She spun. Mical stood there, looking at her oddly. "It'll come back to haunt you one day Beth. One day you'll regret what you've done, when suddenly you're standing at the top with no one to stop you from falling."

She jumped at him and slammed the lightsaber through his throat. His face registered no expression. "You didn't have to do it Beth. You had a choice. But now there's no one left. No one who can help you..."

The image blurred and suddenly Beth was awake. She leaped up, horrified for a moment, wondering if it had really been just a dream.

She just sat there for a few moments, staring forward at the wall. The dream was fading slightly, enough for her to realize that it hadn't been real. She sighed in relief.

"What was that?" she muttered to herself. She stood, no longer sleepy. She checked the clock. It was only seven thirty. Still another half hour till she woke everyone up with her daily news.

She knew there would be no more sleep for her tonight. She went out into the main hold. Charlie and Roger woke as she went by, and followed her out.

She sat down at the table and lifted both animals up on the table.

_You had bad dreams didn't you? _Charlie asked. _You were moving and talking a lot in your sleep._

She stroked his face slowly, thinking. "Ya. Very bad dreams. I was killing everyone..." She heard footsteps coming down the hall. She turned to see Brennen walking in.

He paused when he saw her, but sat down. "Why're you up so early?" he asked, rubbing his eyes.

"Bad dreams."

"You too?" He leaned back, looking at Roger, who was sniffing at him curiously. "I dreamt I was slaughtering you guys. You kept asking why, but I did anyway..." He groaned. "I swear, it's all because of that damn mist–"

"Mist?" She sat up suddenly. "You mean purple mist?"

"Ya..." He looked at her. "You saw it too?"

"Ya, when me and Mical went to unlock the door in the Sith tomb, there was some weird mist in the corner..." She paused for a moment. "I nearly killed Mical. It made me nuts."

He stared at her. "Really? The same happened to me, except I tried to kill Brianna." He sighed. "Now I'm scared though. I still have all the memories of doing it, and the memory of wanting to do it. I'm worried it'll come back to haunt me one day..."

Beth shivered. _It'll come back to haunt you one day Beth. One day you'll regret what you've done._

Had he been talking about the mist? Or was it just dream rabble?

"Do you think something will happen to us?" she asked.

"I don't know. I hope not. I don't want to kill all my friends."

"Me neither. But maybe it won't happen. Maybe we'll be fine..."

They sat in silence for a few minutes, thinking. Then Brennen yawned, and stretched.

"Well, I'm going back to bed for a bit. How about you?"

"Nah. I'm not tired." He shrugged and went back to his room. Roger hopped next to her.

_Are you worried about something? _He asked.

"Ya. But it's probably nothing." At least, she hoped so.

_Later..._

"Hello everyone, here's Beth, your captain, bringing you today's news. Please, hold your applause for the end."

Justin jumped, startled out of his sleep. He sat up. It felt as though he'd only just closed his eyes seconds ago. Although truthfully he felt very well-rested.

"We will reaching Dantooine at approximately noon. There us exiles will face our old masters in a climatic battle to the death! Haha, just kidding. But this will not be a meeting where we catch up on old times. In fact, it's probably going to be a very boring meeting. Anyway, this is Beth, signing off."

Dantooine. Ooh, this would be a blast. He looked at the clock. It was nine o'clock. Hm, Beth was later then usual. But then, she'd probably been exhausted.

He walked out into the main hold. Beth, Brennen, Johnny, Mical, Ryan and Brianna sat in a circle around the table, playing cards. Charlie was sitting next to Mical, looking at his cards and sniffing at them. Roger was next to Beth, and she seemed to be whispering to him quietly.

Justin sat down in the only free chair. "You guys playing Poker?"

"Yep," Beth said, looking at her cards intently. A pile of credits sat in the middle of the table. She threw a couple more on the pile. "I raise you ten." The others threw more cash on the pile, except Brianna, who folded.

Beth ended up winning that hand, but lost the next two. Justin watched a few hands. It seemed the same person never won twice in a row. Justin figured that was because Beth wasn't cheating this time. Johnny asked once if Justin wanted to play, but he shook his head. The last thing he needed was to lose credits.

They played poker for about an hour, and then they just sort of drifted away. Beth, Mical, Charlie and Roger stayed at the table, but Beth had started playing solitaire. Justin shook his head. She was terrible at solitaire.

"So Beth, I noticed your daily news story was late today," Justin commented.

"Ya, I was tired. Woke up late." She cocked her head to one side, trying to figure out her next move.

"Beth, why do you play solitaire?"

"Because I have a deck of cards and nothing to do." She frowned as she moved one of the cards. She sat for a few moments staring at the cards, and then Mical pointed at one of the places. She moved the card over quickly.

"Ah, I hate this game!" She sat back, giving up on the game. Mical shifted over and took up her place in the game. Within three minutes he had won. He smirked at her.

"Oh don't look so smug." She shuffled the cards together. "Where's your victory now?" She wasn't really angry about it, just wanted to annoy him. Justin got up and went to see Mira. "So does your eye still hurt?"

"Nah." He looked around quickly, then leaned forward. "I heard you talking in your sleep again last night. Were you having more of those nightmares?"

"No," she said slowly, shuffling the cards in front of her absent-mindedly.

"Well, what was it then?"

She sighed, unsure if she wanted him to know. However, she explained the events of her dream to him quickly.

"Strange dream," he said, though he was wasn't sure what to think of it. "Beth, you've never given me the impression that you're planning on going to the dark side. It was probably just a dream."

"I hope so," she muttered.

_Noon..._

"Here we are. Dantooine. What a shame it is being back here."

The exiles stood outside the ship. They were going alone. The four waved goodbye to their friends and hurried off to the Enclave.

Luckily, this time they found the Jedi Enclave quickly. But they were startled at the sight. Where before it had been in ruins, now it was in good repair and was almost as glorious as it had been before it had been destroyed.

The door that had been caved in and blocked before was now cleaned up and the four went through. The three Jedi masters awaited them inside.

The four approached them slowly, full of dread.

"And so the exiles have arrived," Vrook said. "We have much to discuss."

"Well, let's get it over with,"Justin said.

"You remember when we met last time? After the fight with the mercenaries?" Vrook asked.

"Vaguely," Beth answered. "That was when Mical pulled off that amazing stunt huh?"

"That still amazes me," Brennen added.

"Yes, well, anyway, remember when you asked me why we exiled you?"

"Now that's really vague," Beth said.

"Well, we have decided to tell you."

"Now there's a surprise," Johnny muttered.

"Well, here is the reason." Vrook sucked in a breath slowly. "We told you it was because you defied us. This is not why. You see, when you went to the Mandalorian Wars, you and the Zabrak Bao-Dur made the Mass Shadow Generator. When you used it to destroy Malachor 5, you caused the deaths of thousands of mandalorians. The screams of so many dying people...you had to cut yourself off from the Force just to survive. But you cut yourself off so completely, so utterly, that you became a wound in the Force. You absorb the Force power of those you kill. Why did you think you became stronger as time went on?"

"We became stronger?" Justin asked. He hadn't noticed truthfully.

"Yes. And haven't you noticed how you call others toward you? Especially those who feel the Force strongly?" Beth and Brennen glanced at each other nervously. Justin shifted slightly. "We couldn't possibly keep you with us, lest the same happen to us. All of us sucking the life force out of each other...It would have been the death of us. The death of the Jedi."

"Wait, what are you saying? We're killing the people we're with?" Johnny exclaimed.

"In a way, yes. You bond easily with those around you, and as such, you are killing them slowly. You have probably already done so with those you are close to."

"And that is why," Kavar spoke up finally. "We are forced to do something we do not do unless under extreme circumstances."

"Excuse me?" Beth said.

"We must cut you off from the Force," Zez explained.

"Oh Hell no!" Beth started backing up. Vrook threw out a hand, and suddenly the four couldn't move.

"Piss off!" Brennen snapped.

"We are sorry," Kavar said softly. "This will not hurt, we promise."

"Enough!" Suddenly the Jedi masters were thrown back. The four were released so suddenly they had a head rush and passed out. Kreia strode in angrily.

"You will not touch them again!" she snapped. "You are fools! Do you not see it? These four learned to live without the Force! You say they are a wound in the Force, but they are not! How many of you could live without the Force after having felt it so strongly for so long?"

"You!" Kavar said coldly. "I thought you died in the wars!"

"Died? No. Became stronger? Yes." She threw out her single remaining hand. "You shall feel what it is like to be cut off from the Force." Three red strings of energy flew from the Jedi to her fingertips. They froze for a moment, then toppled. The red lines stopped.

She looked at the unconscious exiles for a moment, then left to go back to the ship.

_Later..._

Justin groaned, and pushed himself up. The three others were waking up around him. The four stood, and stared at the Jedi masters in front of them. They were obviously dead. Justin half-expected Beth to complain about the fact that they'd spent weeks searching for these Jedi just to have them killed off in a matter of seconds, but she didn't. She was silent, like the rest of them. It was then he realized just how much the four of them had changed in the time they'd been in the game. He remembered something Johnny had said when they'd been on Citadel Station.

"_We may be inside a game, but everything we do is real. The pain is real, and the cruelty is real."_

It seemed so long ago now. When they played the game, it was done in a matter of hours. But it wasn't over and done with so quickly when they living it. And it was so complicated.

_No saving the game and going to bed. _Justin thought. _No pause button, no off button. Can't just reload the game. _Damn this life was complicated.

The four of them headed back for the ship soon after.

_At the Ebon Hawk..._

"Holy shit!"

Beth and Brennen ran forward. Mical was crouched down on one knee, and Brianna was lying on the ground. Both were bloody and bruised.

The two kneeled down next to them.

"What the Hell happened?" Brennen asked as he lifted Brianna up into his lap.

"Handmaidens," Mical said roughly. Blood was leaking out of his mouth slowly. "Came for Kreia."

"What? Why?" Beth asked, putting an arm around his shoulders.

"She's a Sith," Brianna said weakly. One of her eyes were swollen, and her bottom lip was split and bleeding. "Atris wanted her back on Telos."

"She's going to kill her," Mical added, reaching inside his mouth and pulling out a knocked-out tooth. "We told the Handmaidens they couldn't have her. They forced their way through." Beth narrowed her eyes angrily.

"Well, what now? We go after them right?" Johnny asked.

Justin sighed. "As much as I don't like Kreia, she did save us back there. I suppose we owe her one. Besides, by the looks on Beth's and Brezu's faces, I think they want some revenge."

"You know it," Brennen said grimly. "Jaise, can you heal her please?"

Justin placed a hand on her Brianna's shoulder. His hand glowed briefly and her injuries healed. He did the same to Mical right after. "Come on. Let's get back on the ship."

It seemed the Handmaidens had to force their way through everyone on the ship. Justin set himself to healing the injuries of the whole crew. All except Kreia, who was no longer on the ship.

"Bastards," Beth growled as Atton ran off to the cockpit to take them to Telos. "I didn't like Kreia, but she was part of our crew. Besides, who are we gonna ridicule with her gone?"

"You?" Justin suggested. "Beth, you're just mad because they kicked the shit out of Mical."

"Well, obviously. But they beat up Mira too. Aren't you made about that?"

"Oh ya."

The ship rose into the air. Beth grinned. "Telos isn't far. We'll be there by midnight. But something tells me we won't be going to Telos right away." With that she walked off to medbay. Justin shook his head. The Handmaidens had left nothing living on the ship without injuries. Even Charlie and Roger had been hit a few times. Beth had livid when she's discovered that. After comforting the terrified wampa though, she and Mical had set to repairing the two damaged droids.

Justin walked into the cockpit. "How many Handmaidens were there?" he asked Atton casually.

"A lot. Somewhere around twenty. We heard a commotion outside, and then suddenly all these weird ghost women rushed onto the ship demanding we hand over Kreia. We, well I, told them to piss off. They didn't take it well. We weren't really prepared to fight a bunch of Handmaidens with battle staffs."

"Ooh, harsh. Staffs?"

"Ya. But why didn't you come back? Kreia left not long after you guys, and then she came back alone. We asked her where you were, but she just told us to wait and walked off to her room. A few minutes later the Handmaidens stormed in and attacked. After they left we weren't in much condition to do anything. Luckily you four came not long after."

"We were—Held up." He walked back out, wanting to see Mira.

Beth and Mical dragged the two droids out to the main hold. Justin walked by on his way to the cargo hold as they began the repairs on the droids. Mical waited till he'd gone by, then asked what had happened in the Enclave.

She didn't hesitate before launching into the story. She explained exactly what the Jedi masters had told them, how they'd tried to cut the exiles off from the Force, and then how Kreia had stopped them. After that they'd blacked out, and then woke to find the masters dead and Kreia gone.

"Do you think it's true?" she asked when she'd finished the story.

"What?"

"That we're, you know, wounds in the Force? That we're siphoning away at your life force as we speak?"

"No. I don't. The Sith were right in that the Jedi do not allow you to live as a normal person do. Because of that, they view the world in a different way then we do. You learned to live without the Force, and they seem to see this as a threat. Well, they did anyway."

"What if it's true? What if you're only with us because we draw Force weilders to us?"

"What makes you think that's true?"

Really, she wasn't sure. When she'd played the game, she always found the whole ordeal ridiculous. But now that she was living it, it seemed much more likely. And scary.

"I wouldn't worry too much about it Beth. I can tell you this though : I wanted to come with you. I was not forced along."

She grinned. "I knew that."

"Well, good. Any other foolish worries I can put to rest?"

"Not that I can think of." Which was a lie. There were a billion worries going through her head. Like what was going to happen after everything was all over. If they'd still be alive when this was all over. If she'd be the one to cause his death.

_Night..._

The exiles stood in the cockpit, looking out the front window. Citadel Station was calling to them for help, and they were about to give it. Sith warships were attacking them, and enemy soldiers had infiltrated the station. A giant ship drifted nearby. It looked as though it was about to fall apart. But the exiles knew what it was. The Ravager. And Visas's master, Darth Nihilus, was on it. It was time for a battle with a Sith Lord.

Citadel Station could take care of itself. The exiles were going straight for the head of the army. Coming with them would be the usual: Mira, Mical, Brianna, but also Visas. She wanted to see her old master one last time.

After that, they would go down to Telos and confront Atris. To answer for her kidnapping of Kreia. They hoped for as little bloodshed as possible, but knew that probably wouldn't happen.

And after that? A beer run.

End Of Chapter 12


	13. Chapter 13

Knights Of The Old Republic chapter 13– Everything Has To End Eventually

The Ebon Hawk landed on The Ravager easily. Nothing tried to attack them when they'd flown towards the ship. It was as though no one had noticed them.

The exiles, Mira, Mical, Brianna and Visas filed off the ship. Beth changed immediately into the dragon creature so she'd have a power advantage over any enemies they might find. She'd made a lightsaber for Brianna on their way to Telos, as she'd decided that Brianna deserved one. She'd also made one for Mira, even though the girl had never used one before. Now they had a group of eight who all used lightsabers, which would be required when they faced Nihilus.

The ship was huge of course, which meant they spent a lot of time running about aimlessly. And the ship had more then it's share of dark Jedi and sith soldiers. None of them were very skilled however. In fact, Brianna noted at one point that they seemed almost...half-dead. More then just a bit creepy.

They'd just finished off another small group of soldiers when they found him. Beth broke down another door(instead of merely opening it)and they found themselves facing a single man.

The man from Onderon. The one that had tried to lock them out of the queen's room.

"What–We killed you!" Johnny exclaimed.

He laughed, a bone chilling laugh that sent shivers down their spines. Beth suddenly sniffed at him.

"He smells strange," she growled quietly to Justin. "Like a corpse, but he's still alive."

"What are you doing here?" the man hissed.

"We're here to kill your master, and you can't stop us," Johnny answered.

He laughed again. "You can't kill my master. He devours whole planets."

"How did you even get here?" Justin asked.

"Your Sith friend brought me back to life, and told me how to find my new master."

"Kreia?" Mical looked at Beth. "She brought him back to life? Why?"

"So I could tell him about the Jedi on Telos. He will devour them all. But now that I have come–" His eyes flashed something. Sadness. Fear. "–he will not permit me to leave."

"But–But there are no Jedi on Telos!" Brianna said. "We Handmaidens were taught to ignore the Force, shut it out. Atris is the only Jedi there."

"What will happen if Darth Nihilus tries to devour a planet devoid of life?" Mira asked Visas.

"Then his hunger will not be sated, and he will suffer. I do not know what will happen after that," Visas answered.

"He promised to help Onderon," the man muttered, more to himself then anything. "He would make it powerful, independent."

"Don't be foolish!" Beth snarled roughly. It was difficult to talk with fangs and a snout. "You think he would ignore Onderon simply because you told him about Telos? There's not even anything here!"

"He–He would attack Onderon?" The man seemed confused.

"Of course! The Sith are treacherous, and Nihilus is no exception. And he needs to satisfy his hunger. Onderon may not fall now, or even soon, but it will fall eventually. And you cannot stop it."

"I have been betrayed then," the man said. "All I did, it was always for Onderon. Now what can I do?"

"Nothing," Justin answered. "But we can stop him. Tell us how to reach Nihilus, then stand aside. If you can, find a way off the ship. It will be destroyed soon."

"Yes...Yes, you can save Onderon." He looked at Justin. "There is an elevator to the north." He pointed. "He is on the bridge of the ship, at the front, watching the sky. He always is."

"Thank you. Come on team, let's MOVE OUT!!" Justin led the group northward.

They found the elevator. Justin expected it to be locked, but luckily it wasn't. It didn't stop Beth from trying to break it down though.

"Beth, we can just press that button and open it." Which he did promptly after. The elevator opened and the eight of them stepped in.

"You shouldn't have bothered telling the man to get off the ship," Beth muttered. She hated elevators. "The only thing keeping him alive is Nihilus. As soon as he dies, the man will follow him to the grave."

"How do you know that?" Justin asked as the elevator sped towards the bridge of the ship.

"I told you. He's dead. Nihilus keeps him alive, just as he keeps this ship together. Once he dies, both will be gone."

They fell silent after that. When the elevator finally stopped and the doors opened, they found an extremely long bridge. Many men and soldiers stood along the sides, navigating the ship. But they were like the dead. They didn't even glance up as the group walked along the center of the bridge. At the end, they saw a tall man in a dark cloak, the hood up and his back to them.

They approached him slowly. When they were a few meters away they stopped. The man turned slowly to face them. He wore a white mask, but when he laid his eyes on them he reached up and took it off. The four stared at his face.

"Holy shit—Sean?!" Beth's jaw dropped in astonishment.

"Whoa!" Justin was taken aback.

"Dude!" Brennen said, unable to think of anything else to say.

"Jesus Christ!" Johnny exclaimed.

"You know him?" Mical asked, looking up at Beth.

"Hell ya! He's my brother! What are you doing here?!" she demanded.

"Good question Beth," Sean said as he pushed back his hood. "I came downstairs and found Knights Of The Old Republic II still on. I went to turn it off, then saw you four on the screen. You were running around pretty aimlessly. I just said "Damn I wish I knew how they got in there" and then I got sucked in and here I am."

The four exiles thought this made perfect sense, but Mira, Mical, Brianna and Visas were extremely confused by the explanation.

"What?" Mira asked. "That made no sense."

"To you perhaps," Sean retorted. "Now we fight." He raised both his arms, each holding a lightsaber. He ignited them, revealing two double-bladed lightsabers.

"Oh come on!" Brennen said. "Two double-bladed?"

Sean lunged at them. In a flash the eight ignited their lightsabers and were parrying his moves. He certainly knew how to use his lightsabers. With eight fighting things got crowded, so the four others stepped back, leaving the exiles to fight. They were sure they'd be able to beat Sean, but he was very skilled with his weapons, and every attack was blocked and countered.

He kicked out, hitting Johnny in the gut and knocking him back. He threw out a hand and used Force push, throwing Brennen back. He slammed a fist in Beth's face, breaking her nose. She stumbled back. Then he shouted, using Force scream, and Justin flew back.

He laughed as the exiles regrouped for another attack. "Is that all you got?"

Justin healed Beth's nose, and she wiped away the blood. "He's good," Justin said.

"Oh ya," Beth agreed. "But we can beat him. We just gotta be smart about it."

"You mean like by talking quietly so he can't hear us?"

"Exactly."

The exiles attacked again. Sean shouted again, and they were thrown back. Beth was the first up, and spread her wings, flying at him. He turned to face her, then suddenly he began to change. Quickly. By the time Beth reached him he was one of those dragon things too. He jumped in the air, spreading his wings. Beth followed him up.

"So you're one of them too?" she asked.

He grinned wickedly. "Evidently." He looked much like her, except he had a crest of red hair, not black, and he had a short goatee of the same color hair.

As they rose through the air they traded blows with their lightsabers. Finally Beth went into a dive bomb, speeding towards the ground. She slammed down on all fours, leaping away just before Sean crashed down next to her. He straightened up as the four exiles faced him again.

"You're just like her?" Justin shook his head. "I don't even want to know what the Hell is going on here."

"Good," Sean growled. "Because I'm not going to explain." He lunged at them, but instead of slashing at them he merely pushed through them to attack the other four. He flew higher into the air, then dived at Brianna. She raised her lightsaber feebly, and luckily for her Mical jumped in front of her and yelled. Sean was thrown back up into the air, where he flew in a slow circle, slightly confused by the sudden attack.

The exiles moved in front of their friends. "Come on Sean, this is between you and us!" Justin called. "Don't bring them into this!"

"We can fight him!" Mira snapped fiercely.

"No, you can't," Beth said. "None of us can. Lightsabers have no effect on creatures like us. We heal too fast."

"Then what do you suggest?" Johnny asked impatiently.

"It's harder to hold onto the form when you're tired," Beth answered. "I know that from experience. We have to tire him out."

"So we have to fight him, right?" Justin asked.

"Basically."

"And what if we get tired before him?"

"We can't afford to. If we lose this fight, the galaxy is screwed."

Sean attacked again. Beth leaped up to meet him, but he smashed her down into the ground. She yelled.

"Son of a bitch! He gave me a charlie horse!" She dragged herself away, holding her leg. Justin rolled his eyes. Sean was laughing his head off, but not cruelly. More of a good-natured way.

Brennen and Johnny were laughing too. Beth was still on the ground. "Damn it Sean! Why do you always have to be an ass wherever we go!"

He finished laughing and attacked again. He went for Justin this time. Justin stabbed him through the chest, but he ignored it. He grabbed Justin's head and smashed his own into it. Dazed, Justin fell back, pulling his lightsaber out as he did. Sean snorted with laughter, grinning.

"Who's next?" he hissed. Brennen and Johnny stepped forward. "Ooh, two on one. This should be interesting." The two Jedi attacked at the same time, but Sean threw out his hands and Force pushed them back.

"Ok, that's getting really old," Brennen said as he picked himself up.

"How about someone who's a challenge?"

Beth was finally up. She raised her lightsabers and leaped at him. He turned to face her, grinning. There were a few seconds of blocking and parrying, then Beth screamed. Sean was thrown back, but he spread his wings and stopped in the air. He zipped at her, but she dodged out of the way. He smashed into the ground, flipping and over until he finally stopped. Beth slammed down on his back and pushed his face into the ground.

"Taste that? That's the taste of Beth justice!" She laughed.

He managed to throw her off though and jumped a few yards away. He paused for a moment, panting. The four exiles stood together, watching him. He cocked his head, considering them. Then he turned off his lightsabers.

"What the–" Justin frowned. "Are you giving up?"

He changed back to a human. "I've been thinking, and I decided that it would be better to join you then fight you."

"What?"

"I mean, I could, and would, kill you, but you're my brother, and you–" He nodded at Beth "–are my sister. Frankly, I don't give a damn about you two." He gestured at Johnny and Brennen. "But I would rather come with you then kill you."

"Fuck off!" Brennen snapped. "You tried to kill my girlfriend!"

"Whoa wait, you have a girlfriend?" Sean seemed honestly surprised. "How drunk were you guys?"

"Well, actually..." Justin smirked.

"Let's not talk about that," Brennen interjected. "Anyway, why would we bring a Sith Lord with us?"

"Dude, we brought Beth along," Johnny said. "She's probably caused more death and destruction then any dark Lord."

"Johnny, go to Hell."

"So can I come or what?" Sean asked.

The exiles looked at each other. "I'm for him coming," Justin said.

"Ya, me too," Beth agreed.

"Fine by me," Johnny said.

"I still don't want him to come," Brennen said stubbornly.

"Three to one, he comes," Justin said. He glanced up at Beth. "Hey, uh, you wanna change back? That form creeps me out."

"I don't know. This form is more comfortable when there aren't animals all over the place making a ton of noise." But she changed back anyway. The other four walked up to them.

"Well?" Brianna said.

"He's coming with us," Justin said. "Now let's get out of here."

"One sec. I gotta call off my ships." He turned away, closing his eyes. After a few seconds, he opened his eyes again. "All right. Your precious Citadel Station will live to restore Telos another day."

After that the group of nine ran back to their ship. Sean smirked at the sight of the Ebon Hawk. "This looks familiar," he said humorously.

They walked onto the ship. Justin called for Atton to get them to Telos. The other members of the crew frowned when they saw their new crew member, but didn't bother asking any questions. If they needed to know, they'd be told later. They were almost used to getting new members without warning.

The ship flew towards Telos. Their journey was nearing an end. Justin couldn't help but look forward to, and dread, what was coming in the battles ahead.

_On Telos..._

They landed in the hangar of Atris's academy. The exiles were going alone, except for Sean, who insisted on coming. The rest of the crew had been horrified to realize that Sean was Darth Nihilus, although Visas seemed oddly interested in the Sith. Johnny looked infuriated every time he caught Visas gazing in his direction, even though she couldn't see anything.

The five made their way to Atris's room. Surprisingly, they found no Handmaidens along that way. Of course, it was also a relief. None were in the mood for getting hit by staffs.

And so they reached Atris's room without trouble. But their luck was about to end.

As soon as they walked in she ignited her lightsaber. "And as she predicted, so you have come. It is time for us to finish this."

"Atris, we have to find Kreia. Where is she?"

She was not in the mood to talk though. She charged them, going for Sean first. He changed into a dragon thing a split second before she jabbed her lightsaber into his gut. He grinned at her, baring his teeth, and grabbed her by the throat.

"Sean, don't kill her!" Justin called. He glanced at him, shrugged, and threw the Jedi master on the ground. He pulled the lightsaber out of his stomach, broke off the top of the hilt and threw the ruined weapon on the ground.

Atris started to stand, but Johnny held his lightsaber blade to her throat. "Stay down," he ordered.

Justin stepped forward. "Atris, where is Kreia?"

Atris looked at him over Johnny's blade. "You know where she is. Where everything started. Where it all ended." They stared at her blankly. She rolled her eyes. "Malachor 5, idiots."

"Oh," they said.

"I thought she meant for me to go there, but evidently she wants you to follow her." She sighed. "She has gone to the Trayus Academy."

"That was a Sith academy right?" Brennen asked.

"Yes. Now go. Fulfill the destiny the Force has laid out for you."

"Or game producers," Justin muttered.

"What?"

"Nothing."

"So what do we do with her?" Sean asked as he changed back to human.

"We leave her. Come on." Justin turned to the door. "MOVE OUT!!"

_On the Ebon Hawk..._

They headed for Malachor 5 immediately. But it would take them a day to reach it. In the mean time, they were unsure what to do with themselves.

Sean and Visas seemed to have started something with each other. At least, that's what they figured when they walked into Visas's room and the two were making out. They walked off right away, but Johnny was fuming. The other three were surprised by the fact that Johnny was so angry. They hadn't really realized that he'd liked Visas so much.

He stomped off to the Communication's Room. The other three split up, going off to their respective rooms. Sometime in the next thirty hours the final battle would take place, and they had to be ready when it came.

_Sometime later..._

"What do you think we'll find when we reach Malachor 5?" Mira asked.

The exiles, Mira, Mical, Brianna, Sean and Visas all sat around the table in the main hold. Beth had Roger in her lap, and Mical held Charlie. They had tried to play cards, but were too anxious about the upcoming events.

"We'll find Sith, and we'll find Kreia," Justin said. "What happens then is anyone's guess."

"Is it too much to hope for that she might be redeemable?" Brianna asked.

"She's been Sith all along," Brennen said. "And has been for many years. She cannot be saved."

"But can't anyone be saved?" she asked.

"I don't think she's mean for us to save her," Beth said, patting Roger on the head.

"Then what does she mean for us to do?" Mira asked.

"There is no us in this Mira," Justin said. "Only us exiles are going."

"What!" Mira exclaimed. "But we can help you!"

"This is something we must face on our own," Beth said. "None of us want to see any of you hurt." She glanced up at Johnny, who was staring angrily at Sean, who had spontaneously started making out with Visas.

"But we don't want to see you get hurt either," Brianna persisted.

"We can take care of ourselves," Johnny said, barely restraining his anger as he watched Sean.

"And what, we can't?"

"We never said that," Justin said, exasperated. "Just–Just stay in the ship, all right?" He looked around the table, trying to see if they'd do as he'd said. None met his eyes. He looked at Mical, the only one who'd kept silent. He and Beth were talking to each other quietly. _God, Beth, don't bring him with us. _He thought. _You get too angry when he gets hurt. If he dies, you'll go over to the dark side, I can feel it._

_Malachor 5..._

They tried to land safely on the planet, but the atmosphere was stormy and wild. The shipped careened out of control. The sides of the ship scraped against rock, and then the front smashed through the top of a spire. Finally, they spun over and over, crashing into the ground.

_Some point later..._

_Ok, this must make the amount of times I've woken up groaning and confused at about twenty. _Justin sat up. He looked around. He had no idea how he'd gotten out of the ship, but no one else was anywhere to be seen.

Standing, he brushed off his robes. He glanced around for the ship. It was lodged between two mountains about fifty feet above him. The landing ramp had fallen open in the crash. Well, that would explain how he'd fallen out. He'd been standing by the ramp when they crashed. But where were the others? Still in the ship? Or did they fall out too? Did they already go to the academy? If so, he'd have to get going too.

He ran down the path.

Brennen was still on the ship. When they'd crashed he'd flown forward into the wall, and fallen unconscious. When he finally woke, he had no idea where he was for a moment. When he remembered, he snuck off the ship, hoping Brianna wouldn't try to follow him when she woke up.

He jumped out the ramp, slowing his fall with the Force. When he landed, he looked around quickly. He saw no one.

"Maybe they've already gone to the academy," Brennen muttered. There were three paths leading off from this one. He ran down one of them.

Johnny watched Brennen run off down the path. He could see his girlfriend Brianna follow not long after. He still felt a prick of anger when he saw them together. Just as he did when he saw Justin and Mira. Sean and Visas. It didn't matter. Sometimes he couldn't help but hate them, even though they were his friends.

He followed Brennen down the trail.

Beth had been in the cockpit, helping Atton to try and land on Malachor 5 safely. Obviously, they had failed. And Beth should've worn a seatbelt, for when they crashed she went flying through the windshield.

She awoke very sore and unsure where she was. She stood, brushing glass shards off her armor and pulling out a couple from her skin. She looked around. Damn Malachor looked much worse in person.

She had fallen near some sort of path. She headed down it without a second thought.

Justin paused when he came to an intersection. He looked down one path, and then the other. In the end he shrugged and went to the left. He heard the sound of a stone rattling behind him. He spun, igniting his lightsaber.

"Mira?" His girlfriend stood a few feet away, grinning slyly. "I thought I told you to stay on the ship."

"Did you really think I would?" she asked as she walked closer. "You're going to get yourself killed if you go on your own."

"And you think you can stop that?" he asked as they continued on their way.

"You think you can?" she retorted.

He laughed. "Ok fine, we'll go together. Have you seen any of the others?"

"No. Not yet." They continued walking down the path until they came to a large open area. In the center stood a dark furred wookiee.

"Hanharr!" Mira said, surprised. "You gotta be kidding me!"

The wookiee turned to them. He growled.

"He says that Kreia brought him back to life," Mira said. "Why would she do that?"

"To hunt us. To kill us," Justin answered. He ignited his lightsaber. "I'll take care of this."

"No!" Mira stepped forward. "I will take him."

"Whatever. I'm not gonna argue with you. We'll both take him."

Hanharr roared and charged. He swung at him with his swords, but Justin slashed through both blades with his lightsaber. Mira ran past him and stabbed the wookiee with her lightsaber. He fell, dead.

"Well that wasn't very hard," Mira commented.

"Ya...It's almost as though...He wasn't real!" Justin spun to look at the corpse. For a moment they stared in silence. Then Mira frowned.

"Jaise, that made no sense."

"Shut up." They continued walking until suddenly a huge, white temple. Justin recognized the Trayus academy. A giant chasm ran between them and the building, but there was a bridge leading across. The two hurried over.

Justin frowned as he walked by three Sith corpses. They'd been killed by a lightsaber blade. And recently. He looked at Mira.

"Be careful We don't know what we're gonna face in here."

The two walked into the academy.

Beth was ahead of Justin. In fact, she was the first to enter the academy.

She'd been forced to fight three Sith on her way in, but so far she hadn't run into much danger. She stepped into another room and looked around carefully, lightsabers at the ready in case of attack. But this was a very small room, only leading to another. She walked through slowly, cautiously. This was a much bigger room, with pillars all over the room. On the other side, crouched against the wall, was Mical.

"Shit buddy, what are you doing here?" she asked, walking closer. He looked up, and Beth froze. His face was streaked with blood.

"Beth, get out of here!" he snapped.

She heard footsteps behind her. She spun, raising her lightsabers. It was Sion.

"Yes, I thought you would come. You weren't far behind him last time either." He nodded at Mical.

She was enraged. "You made a big mistake facing me again Sion. You won't get away this time." She changed her form to the dragon. It was easier every time she did it. "I'm going to make sure you don't survive this encounter!"

"Beth, you can't beat him by physical means," Mical said.

"Quiet!" she hissed. She prepared to attack.

Brennen walked down the path slowly. As he rounded another corner the academy was in sight. He hurried forward. Then he heard someone call his name. He spun.

"Brianna?" He watched her walk towards him. "What are doing here?"

"I followed you." She smiled slightly. "I didn't want you to go alone."

He paused, then grinned and nodded. "All right. You can come. But only because it's so damn miserable on this planet. I could use the company." The two strode towards the academy. Johnny wasn't far behind. His eyes glowed strangely. He had found some strange mist on the way here, and it had showed him some odd things. He'd looked at it a bit closer, kneeling next to it, and breathed some in accidently. Then he'd continued on, following Brennen. Now he waited in the shadows until they'd entered the academy, then followed quickly.

Sion body-checked Beth into the wall. She strained to throw him back, but he moved back on his own, smirking. She tried to catch her breath. As the battle went on she found she didn't heal quite as fast as before, but Sion kept fighting as though he was at full power. She summoned her lightsabers back into her hand and attacked. Sion dodged around her and smashed her in the back with his arm. She flew forward and slammed onto the ground. She remained there for a moment, winded, then forced herself back up.

She turned to face Sion again. He laughed. "You are willful, but you cannot defeat me. I cannot die."

"Bullshit!" She lunged forward, slashing at him. He threw out a hand, and she was thrown back, and crashed into the wall. Her lightsabers fell from her hand. She fell forward, but once again forced herself up. However, she wasn't so quick to attack this time.

"I told you," Mical groaned next to her. "You can't kill him by physical means."

"Then what do you want me to do huh?" She fell to one knee. "Damn it, I can't pull out some amazing mental power." She was exhausted from the battle, and Sion showed no signs of tiring.

"Is that all?" Sion said coldly. "Perhaps I'll just finish it then." He slowly raised a hand. "Starting with him."

"What!" Beth pricked up. Mical suddenly rose up and flew across the room. He slammed into the wall on the other side. "You son of a–" She attacked, forgetting her lightsabers. He grabbed her by the throat, tightening his grip just enough that she could barely breathe. She glared at him angrily.

"I feel much hate in you," Sion whispered. "Didn't your Jedi masters teach you to restrain your anger?"

"Go to Hell," she snarled. His grip tightened, and suddenly she couldn't breathe. She slashed out at him with her claws angrily. He smirked, then threw her back. She coughed, forcing air into her lungs.

She forced herself up, anger making her strong. She summoned her lightsabers into her hand and pounced forward. She slammed one into his gut, and drove him into the wall. She rammed the other through his chest.

She pushed hard on both, shoving half the hilt into his skin. "Stay there," she growled.

He tried to pull out the blades, but, failing that, just pulled away from the wall. The lightsaber blades left the wall easily, though they were still stuck in him. He threw out a hand, and she rose into the air. He made a swiping motion, and she crashed into the wall next to Mical.

He looked at her as she landed next to him. "Beth, calm down," he whispered urgently. "You can't beat him, not this way–"

"Shut up Mical!" she snarled. She tried to push herself up, but she was no longer healing, and one or two of her ribs had broken. She cried out, and toppled again. "I'm fighting for you, you ungrateful bastard!"

He stared at her, almost scared of her. She was falling from the light side. He could see it. She forced herself into a sitting position.

"Mical, can you heal me? I can't fight like this."

"Beth, no. I'm not going to help you destroy yourself."

"There's no time for that!" She looked at him fiercely. "Who cares how much I'm hurt? I have to beat him! I have to kill him!"

"Beth, can't you see what's happening to you?" He wasn't talking about injuries now.

"Shut up! Just heal me, and if you won't, spare me your incessant babbling!" She somehow managed to stand again, ignoring the pain in her side. She launched herself at Sion. He ignited his lightsaber and stabbed her through the gut.

She coughed, and stumbled back. She had never imagined a lightsaber blade would hurt so much. She fell over backwards, holding her stomach. She stared up at the ceiling, wanting to scream. But suddenly the pain was diminishing. For a moment she was sure she was dead, but then she realized she was being healed. She sat up. Mical was next to her, hand outstretched.

"I couldn't just watch you die," he said quietly.

For a moment her anger was gone. The blind rage was gone. But then Sion attacked again.

"Aren't you dead yet?" He threw out a hand, and Mical slammed back into the wall. He fell to the ground, and Sion decided to round things off with Force lightning.

Mical yelled. The pain was almost familiar, but terrible none the less. Beth was up in a flash. She ripped her lightsabers out of Sion's body and slashed both through his throat, cutting off his head.

The corpse fell over backwards. Beth stared at him, livid. Then she turned to Mical. "Are you all–" She felt a jabbing pain in her chest. She looked down and saw a red blade sticking out the front of her armor.

She pulled herself off the blade and spun. Sion was up again, completely healed.

"Damn it! Will you not just _die_?!" She swung a lightsaber at him, and they spent a few seconds parrying and countering. He got past her guard and slashed at her face. She ducked, and he brought his knee up and smashed her in the snout. She fell back, holding her nose. It healed quickly. Luckily, the Force healing had given her some energy back.

Suddenly the door opened just to the left of them. Both looked. Brianna ran in. "Beth! What's going–?" Sion slammed his lightsaber through her chest.

"Brianna!" Brennen grabbed her and pulled her back. He stared at the wound. He gulped. "Oh God," he said weakly.

Beth flared up again. "You heartless murderer!" She slashed at him. He dodged back, grinning, which just infuriated her more. "She wasn't even doing anything!" She swung again. He ducked under it. "Quit dodging and get hit!"

"Oh God," Brennen said. "Beth, he's–"

"I know he's Sion, Brezu!" she snarled, stabbing at the Sith.

"No Beth. It's Mical."

"What?" She was confused for a moment. Then suddenly she remembered, and spun. Mical was still on the ground, unmoving. She dropped her weapons and ran to him. He was still alive...but only just. He would die soon unless they could get some help. And where would they get that? Only Justin knew Force heal, and who knew where he was? The academy was huge, they could search for hours.

She could only think of one thing. Mical was going to die.

She stared at the ground, mind completely blank. For a moment it was as though she'd detached herself from her body. Completely emotionless... Then suddenly her brain exploded with rage. She remembered only one thing: she hated Sion. And he would die for what he'd done.

She leaped up, to all appearances insane. She forgot her lightsabers completely, and punched Sion in the face. He healed right away, but she didn't care. To her, it just meant he'd suffer more. She slammed another fist into his nose, breaking it. Blood splattered all over her hand. Before he'd even healed again she'd hit him again, and again. It was like she was blind, and unable to think, unable to really know what she was doing. This would have no effect on him, she knew that. A small part of her brain realized that she was being foolish, that this wouldn't save Brianna, or Mical. She was just wasting her energy. But this thought was like a drop of water in a hurricane. It had no authority over her movements.

Finally Sion caught her fist, and shoved her back. She fell over, panting, no longer able to hold her form. As she changed back to a human, she looked to the side. She'd landed next to Mical, and she suddenly felt no anger, just intense sorrow. She turned her head to look at Brennen, who was holding Brianna gently, trying to comfort her.

_The last moments of their lives. Unless you can remember. _She lifted a hand slowly. Sion tensed, thinking she was using some sort of Force power. She stared at her outstretched fingers. _At the top with no one to stop you from falling. It was your choice. _A coincidence? Or was the dream really a sight into the future? _I did this once before. I can do it again. _

Suddenly her hand glowed with a blue light. Sion was startled by the sudden light. She grinned. _I will never fall. _

"Brianna?" Brennen whispered. Beth glanced at him. The Handmaiden was standing slowly. She no longer had a blackened burnt lightsaber wound, although she'd have a scar for the rest of her life.

"What happened?" Brianna asked.

Beth heard a shifting sound next to her. She looked. Mical was standing too. Beth stood with him, feeling triumphant. _I remembered at least. Although I've already forgot again. _

Sion stared at the four of them, surprised. Then he shook his head. "It doesn't matter how many you have with you," he said smugly. "You can never kill me."

"Why are you doing this Sion?" Beth asked.

"Because I must. For my master. I must defeat you, and she will choose me over you."

"Don't be a fool," she said. "She already chose us. You know this. Even if you beat us, you will not live much longer."

"I will defeat you!" he roared. "I will not die! I am the Lord of Pain! I do not _follow _the dark side! I _am _the dark side! The Force keeps me alive, to destroy you!"

"Kreia hates the Force," Brennen said. "If you are the Force, then you are what she hates. We forgot the Force, that is why she chose us."

Sion hesitated. "What you say is true," he said slowly.

"Just let go Sion," Beth said quietly. "It isn't such a terrible thing."

"Yes..." he said softly, as though he was finally releasing something. "I am glad...to leave this place..." He closed his eyes, and fell to the ground without a sound. He slowly faded away.

"Did he...Did he cut himself off from the Force?" Brianna asked shakily.

"Yes," Brennen answered. He suddenly hugged her close. "Oh God, I thought I'd lost you."

"Brezu!" She laughed gently. "Brezu, let go, you're crushing me!"

Mical turned to Beth. "Are you all right?" he asked.

She knew he wasn't asking if she was injured. "Yes," she said. "I thought–I thought you were going to die. I couldn't control myself." She sighed. "Was it the dark side? Did I nearly fall?"

"Anyone can be angry Beth. Anyone can feel pain, or hate. Perhaps it does lead to the dark side, but those are the feelings that prove we're human." He smiled. "And like you said, you're not really a Jedi. You haven't forsaken anything here."

She grinned. "Well, I guess if not nothing else, you're useful for making me feel better about myself."

Suddenly Johnny walked in. The four turned to face him. "Hey Lorenti," Brennen said. "What's up?"

"I've been following you for a while Brezu," he said. Beth frowned at the tone of voice. It was very cold. "I lost you for a bit back there, but here you are."

Brennen backed away a few steps. "Lorenti? What's wrong with you? Why are you being so weird?"

He looked around the room. "Jaise's absent? Too bad. I guess he'll miss the show." He ignited his lightsaber. The four instinctively jerked away.

"Lorenti, what are you doing?" Brianna said. Brennen pulled her back and stepped in front of her protectively.

He laughed. Mical stared at his eyes, glowing so oddly...He was sure he remembered it from somewhere. "I had to come here. Had to. Finish the job. Soon, it will be done." He attacked Beth, who was closest.

Justin and Mira continued their exploration of the academy. They'd found only a few Sith since they'd entered, all of which had been dispatched of easily. Justin was worried, because they hadn't come across any of the others yet.

It had been maybe half an hour since they'd entered the academy. It was huge on the outside, but even bigger when seen on the inside. It had many rooms, most of which had doors leading down hallways which led to other rooms with doors. Justin had taken to marking their path with his lightsaber.

The two were walking absent-mindedly down another hall when suddenly they heard a crash coming from another room. They stopped, and looked at each other. Then they hurried towards the sound. It was down another corridor, which led to a small room. But this room held an exit, which was open. And the two saw Johnny holding Beth against the wall by her throat, threatening to kill her should the others come near.

Justin threw out his hand, making a vice. Johnny dropped his sister right away, holding his throat. Mical tackled him down, holding his lightsaber over his face.

"Move and I'll kill you," he said angrily.

Justin stop using the Force, and Johnny sucked in a breath. Mical did not take away the lightsaber though.

"Mical, back off!" Justin ordered.

He did not even glance up. "No."

"I wasn't asking Mical!" Justin warned.

"He tried to kill your sister!"

"I realize that! But surely he had a good reason!"

"No, he really didn't," Brennen said. "He basically walked in and attacked us. He muttered something about an unfinished job and then tried to kill us."

"He didn't try to kill _us, _he tried to kill me," Beth corrected, rubbing her throat.

"Po-ta-to Po-tah-to," Brennen shot back.

"That has nothing to do with the situation."

"Ya it does!"

"Guys, shut up," Justin said. "Lorenti, what the Hell were you doing?"

"Killing you," he laughed, but keeping a cautious eye on Mical's lightsaber. "What did it look like?"

"I knew I recognized this," Mical said. "This is just like..." He trailed, looking at Beth uncertainly. She returned the look, confused. Obviously she had no idea what he'd been about to say.

Johnny took his chance while Mical was looking away. He rolled out from under his lightsaber. Mical turned back to face him, but Johnny smashed a left hook into his face. He fell back. Johnny spun, lightsaber out. Brennen blocked the hit, and threw out his hand, pushing Johnny back. He tripped over a stone and fell. This time Beth stepped forward and held both her lightsabers to his throat.

"Stay down," she ordered. "Mical? What the Hell were you talking about before?"

Mical walked up next to her, rubbing his jaw. "The Sith tomb," he said simply.

She didn't look away from Johnny, but she frowned. "You mean...The mist?"

"Mist? What mist?" Justin asked.

"Wait," Mical said. "I think it's wearing off."

The others gathered around. Johnny was staring blankly ahead of him. Then he glanced around at all of them. "Uh...hi?" he said uneasily. "Uh...Ya, sorry about the whole trying to kill you thing. I couldn't control myself."

"Don't worry about it Lorenti," Brennen said. "Me and Beth know how it feels." Beth stepped back, turning off her lightsabers.

"Ya," she agreed. "Come on, we got a job to finish."

"Kreia?" Mira asked.

"Yep. And it won't be easy. Or maybe it will, I don't know."

"Beth, shut up," Justin said. "I don't think you three should come though." This statement was directed at Mira, Mical and Brianna. "It's going to be dangerous."

"But we want to help you!" Brianna said.

"Ya, and you can do it by staying back. Only we are meant to fight Kreia. Go back to the ship, and wait for our return."

"But–!" Mira started, but Beth interrupted.

"He's right. It's too dangerous for you to come. For you, and for us. If you got hurt, if you died..." She trailed off.

"What?" Mira snapped. "You'll fall to the dark side? Geez, how easy can it be to turn?"

"You'd be surprised," Beth said, looking at Mical.

"Look, if you care about us, you'll go back to the ship," Brennen said.

"Fine. I can tell when I'm not wanted!" Mira stomped out of the room. Brianna followed somewhat more quietly. Mical glanced at Beth briefly, then went after them.

The exiles looked at each other. "Well, it was for the best," Justin said. "Right?"

"Ya..." Brennen looked out the door wistfully.

"Come on, we gotta find Kreia," Justin said. "MOVE OUT!!" He led them out of the room.

They wandered about for the better part of an hour, trying to find Kreia. Finally they broke through a door that led to a huge room. A large circular platform was held over a huge hole in the ground. Justin glanced over the edge, but couldn't see anything. He figured it must lead all the way down to the planet's core.

Kreia stood in the center of the platform. She turned slowly to face them as they walked closer. "And so, here we are. Where it all started. Where it all ended. And will end."

The four stopped a few feet away. "We knew it would all lead up to this," Justin said. "We must fight now, right?"

"Yes," Kreia said. "You must strike me down, here, and it will be done." She lifted a hand. Three lightsabers appeared out of midair next to her. She ignited her own. "Are you ready?"

"Jaise, we'll go for the lightsabers, you take her out!" Beth said quickly. She ignited her lightsabers as the disembodied lightsabers zoomed towards them. She, Brennen and Johnny attacked them, and Justin went straight for Kreia.

He slashed at her head, wanting to end the fight as quick as possible. However, Kreia hadn't gotten where she was now with charm. She blocked the shot easily, and stabbed at him. He sidestepped to avoid it, and used a power blow to get past her guard. She leapt back, avoiding it entirely, then threw out her single hand. Lightning flew from her fingers. He flung out his own hand, and somehow, he wasn't sure how, caught the lightning in it. She stopped the flow of electricity, and Justin stood there with a small bluish ball in his hand. He closed his hand, destroying it.

"You are powerful," Kreia said, preparing to attack again. "But I should have guessed as much. You got this far after all." She lunged forward again, and the next minute passed thus in blocks, parries, ripostes and dodges. Neither could get past the guard of the other, no injuries were given, and in the end Justin jumped back for better footing, knowing he had to rethink his strategy a bit.

Beth knocked into him from behind. "Beth, wanna tag team?" he asked quickly. They slapped their hands together and switched positions. Now Beth was fighting Kreia.

"So McBitch, I think we both knew what was coming here! I didn't really want to kill you, but it seems I have no choice!" She spun her lightsabers like a fan on either side of her and sprung forward. She swung at her, using speed instead of power, trying to get past her lightsaber. Kreia managed to block every hit though. Beth screamed, and Kreia was flung back.

Beth threw herself at the Sith, but Kreia was up so fast it was as though she'd never fallen. Beth tried to stab her face, but Kreia ducked under and jabbed at her gut. Beth changed her form immediately, just in time to save herself. The blade passed harmlessly through her skin. But before she could do anything, Kreia used Force push, throwing her back.

She caught herself in the air, spreading her wings to stop herself. She landed on the ground, next to Brennen. "Hey Brezu! Tag!" They clapped their hands quickly and switched positions. It was Brennen's turn to fight.

Brennen attacked at once, going for Kreia's face. She knocked the blade aside, and slashed at his throat. He blocked and spun the blade to slash at her. She jumped back, but he followed her, not giving her any time to gain her bearings. He smashed her blade over and over again, trying to numb her arm and make her drop the lightsaber. She jumped back again, and this time he didn't follow her so quickly. She flung out her hand and threw him back. He skidded along the ground and landed near Johnny.

"Tag?" They clapped hands, and Johnny stepped forward to attack Kreia. Brennen took up his place with the lightsaber.

"So Kreia, I guess it's time to die!" Johnny doubled the length on his lightsaber and swung. She ducked under the massive blade. He slashed down, but she jumped to one side and avoided it. She stepped back a bit, and he jabbed forward with it. She sidestepped to avoid it. Finding the lightsaber to a bit unwieldy, he shortened it again and jumped at her. He could have overwhelmed her with brute force, but she continued to merely dodge his attacks instead of trying to block them. Obviously she knew he was too strong to fight lightsaber to lightsaber. She jumped back again, and Johnny followed her again, but tripped over a piece of stone. He slammed down on his face, and had to roll to the side quickly to avoid Kreia's lightsaber. He jumped up, but she threw out her hand and he flew back, landing next to Justin.

"Tag!" he called. They clapped hands and Justin was once again fighting Kreia.

"Let's finish this!" He slammed her blade away before she even had time to think and slashed down on her one remaining hand.

She cried out and stepped back. The floating lightsabers disappeared, and the four exiles rejoined each other, standing before Kreia.

"And so, it is over," she whispered. "You have defeated me."

"What happens now?"

"I will answer the questions you no doubt have, for I see many things here, at the center of Malachor. Then, I will leave this world, and become one with the Force."

"Hey, if you can see so many Goddamn things, then can't you see our questions before we ask them?" Beth asked.

"Yes I can. All four of you have known this was coming. You knew what would happen, at the end of everything. But the one thing you wondered was, what happened after? When all was said and done, when the last call was answered, what would happen? And I will tell you as much as I know."

The four leaned forward eagerly. "You four will indeed split up, and perhaps never see each other again. But all of you will follow Revan to the Unknown Regions of space, where you will continue the fight against the Sith."

"But didn't we fight the Sith already?" Johnny asked.

She snorted. "Did you really believe that the creatures we fought here were the true Sith? No. The Sith is a belief, not a people. The true Sith lies elsewhere."

"And our friends?" Justin asked. "What will become of them?"

"Many will leave, and pursue their own futures. But the ones who were with you here, the ones you are close to, will follow you wherever you go. You may try to stop them, but they will follow you. The same will happen with the Miraluka and Darth Nihilus. They will go into the Unknown Regions, though they will not be with you."

"Will they fight the Sith?" Brennen asked.

"Yes. The Sith Lord will turn away from the dark side, though he will never truly forget his cruelty."

"And what about Charlie and Roger?" Beth asked.

"The wampa and gizka? Obviously you will take them with you. The gizka is not a long living species, but the wampa will be with you for many years. And your friend Ryan."

"Well, it seems Beth will have plenty of company," Justin said.

"Is there anything else you wish to ask me?" Kreia asked wearily.

"Ya," Beth said. "Could God heat a burrito so hot He Himself could not eat it?"

Kreia smiled wryly. "Perhaps that would be a question better left to God Himself."

"What–" Suddenly the dark room was gone, and the four stood in a white room.

And before them stood God.

"Holy shi–Uh, wow," Beth corrected herself. Swearing in front of God seemed a bit worse then swearing anywhere else.

"You now stand before your Lord," God said in his deep voice. "I have brought you here so that I might answer your questions."

"All right then–Why are we here?" Beth asked.

"I made life for entertainment. The TV had nothing but re-runs."

"All right, makes sense," Beth said, nodding. "Then what happens when we die?"

"You go to Heaven, what do you think?"

"And Hell?"

"It's reserved for people who are actually evil."

"Am I going there?"

"No."

"Are any of the others?"

"No."

"Sean?"

"Depends on whether or not he goes back to the dark side."

"Cool, cool," Beth said, considering. "All right, and the meaning of life?"

"There is no meaning of life, you just live, die, and come here. Unless you're Hindu. Then you're reincarnated."

"Ok, and could you heat a burrito so hot you yourself could not eat it?"

"I hate this question. Even I can burn my tongue."

"So it's a yes?"

"Yes. Do you have any other questions?"

"Ya. What are we doing in the game?"

God laughed. "Entertainment! You said you wanted to be in the game, so I put you in it! I wanted to see how well you did!"

"Wow God, you can be an ass sometimes."

"Well, I also kept you alive didn't I? Why did you think you survived on Hoth? The sudden heat? That was me! I didn't want you to die before the end of the game!"

"Well, that makes sense I suppose," she said, looking at the others.

"I can send you back if you want."

"Where?"

"Home. I can send you back to back to your real lives."

"I don't know..." Justin said.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I mean, come on! After all we've done, the things we've seen, the stuff we've accomplished! We even fell in love! And what about Kreia's vision? It doesn't come true then? We were supposed to go to the Unknown Regions with our friends."

"Yes..." God considered. "Well, I can keep you here if you want."

"I don't know if I want that either," Johnny said uneasily. "I mean, I sorta miss home too."

"Well what do you want me to do then!? I'm not God–Oh wait I am. All right, then I can keep part of you in your real lives, and part of you in your Star Wars lives. Then, the vision will come true, and you'll be home at the same time."

"What about Sean?" Brennen asked.

"I will do the same to him."

The four looked at each other.

"What? Is there another problem you've thought of?"

"Well, it seems strange to just go back to our normal lives like nothing happened."

"I can erase the memories of this world if you want."

"No, don't do that," Beth said, shaking her head. "I'd rather remember. So there'll always be a part of us here?"

"Yes. You will live on in two worlds, with the same memories as each other."

"So which one would be the real one?" Johnny asked.

"Who knows, who cares. Are you ready to return to your old lives?"

Justin sucked in a breath. "Yes. We are ready." God clapped his hands together, and suddenly they felt themselves being sucked back. For a moment they were surrounded by darkness, and then they slammed onto the ground.

"Holy Hell," Johnny said.

The four stood up. They were back in the real world, right down to the basement they'd been in when they got pulled into the game. Justin looked at the TV. The game was still on. He turned it off, wondering if he'd ever play it again.

"That was nuts," Beth said. "All of that was just entertainment for God."

"It's hard to believe we went through all that just to return here," Brennen said.

"But we're still there too," Johnny pointed out. "There's another one of us over there, possibly heading for the Unknown Regions as we speak."

"Do you think we should've done it?" Beth asked. "Do you think we should've come back here?"

"I don't know," Justin said. "But what's done is done."

"How long do you think we were gone for?" Brennen asked. "I'm sure we were gone for weeks."

"Apparently, we were only gone for five minutes," Johnny said, nodding at the clock.

The four sat down on the couch. They stared at the TV for a few seconds.

"Man, we were war heroes there," Justin said. "War heroes, Jedi exiles..."

"Ya..." Brennen trailed off. "We were trying to save the galaxy from the Sith too."

"And we could've succeeded," Beth said.

Johnny sighed. "We'll just have to learn how to live normally again. Though it will be a long and difficult road."

They sat in silence for a few seconds. Then Beth picked up a controller.

"Well, time to start learning how to live normally again." She turned the game on.

_Meanwhile..._

The four exiles reappeared on Malachor 5. Kreia was dead. She lay before them, completely still. They looked at each other. It was finished. Everything they had worked for, it was done.

They turned and left the room, heading back for their ship. Not a word was spoken. It did not take them long to reach the ship, and when they boarded it Justin ordered Atton to take them away immediately. Mira was sitting at the table in the main hold, but at the sight of him she stomped off to the cargo hold. Justin smirked and went after her. Brianna hugged Brennen tightly, so at least he got a nice homecoming. Mical asked Beth what had happened, and she set to telling him right away. Johnny left for Communication's. The ship flew away from the planet, headed for nowhere in particular.

An hour later, the crew stood in the main hold. "Where are we headed?" Atton asked.

"I don't know about you, but us exiles are going to the Unknown Regions. We have...business to attend to."

"And I'm going with you!" Mira said at once. "You can't stop me this time!"

"I know Mira, I know," he said, smiling.

"And me!" Brianna said, looking at Brennen.

"Saw that coming," Brennen said.

"I am too," Mical said.

"Ya ya." Beth grinned. "I knew you'd say that." Charlie and Roger hopped about in front of her, chattering non-stop. "Ya, and you two are coming too."

"We will not be all together though," Johnny said.

"What? Why not?" Brianna asked.

"We cannot stay together forever, Brianna," Johnny told her. "We will face our enemy better if we are apart. We will have less to lose that way. Less chance of falling to the dark side."

"What will we be fighting anyway?" Mira asked.

"The true Sith," Justin answered. "Atton, take us to the nearest inhabited planet. That is where we will separate. And begin our new quest. And, perhaps, our last one."

Atton nodded and walked off to the cockpit. The rest of the crew drifted away to their own rooms. Ryan paused for a moment and looked at Beth.

"I'm going with you too, whether Mical likes it or not." Then he walked off.

Finally, only the exiles stood in the main hold. They looked at each other.

"And so this is how it ends," Justin said. They nodded. What else was there to say? They retired to their rooms, knowing that soon they would be headed for the Unknown Regions. And what would happen there? Only time would tell.

End Of Story


End file.
